Da-da da-da-dah, da-da da-DA!-dah!

Cebit 09: Micro helicopters buzz tech show.

CEBIT ALWAYS HAS odd but cool things to show off, and this year one of them was a multi-rotor stable RC camera platform. There were three of them, think military drones but smaller and without the missiles.

All were different forms of the same theory, and all came from the university-oriented organisation called Offis. They develop the technology, but don't have any commercial products. Offis is basically an R&D outfit.

All blinged up and nowhere to hover.

That said, they had three on hand, the one above is the most sophisticated, and has colored LEDs so it is 17 times as nifty, just like a nine-year-old Honda, but without the baked-bean-tin exhaust. The other two are below, one has ducted fans, the other the most sophisticated electronic controls system you can fit in a CD spindle tub case. Since this is an R&D effort, that is a plus. Hack away.

Actually, that's kinda sexy.

These designs are not really for sale, but the parts have been commercialized by Mikrokopter. You can see all their info here, and even buy enough parts to make one should you need a flying RC camera. At around $1,500 they aren't cheap, but what good geek toy is? With 30 minutes or so of fly time, you can have a lot of fun with these at your home or office.

That's a special hybrid alloy piece of bodywork. Or, a CD-case in laymen's terms.

That is what a good geek toy is all about.