Dropping supplies to troops is often a matter of luck: there is no way of
ensuring they will land in the right place. But now researchers at the US Army’s
Soldier Systems centre in Natick, Massachusetts have developed a robotic
parafoil that will steer itself to a target area, landing within just 100 metres
regardless of wind conditions. Parafoils are wing-shaped parachutes and can use
lift to travel considerable lateral distances. Some travel three kilometres for
every one km of altitude—or 32 km from a typical drop altitude. An onboard
GPS system keeps track of the parafoil’s position and…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features

ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ
Woman with Alzheimer's starts conversing again after taking psilocybin
News

Life
New-to-science spider builds trap that flings ants into the air
News

ÎçÒ¹¸£Àû1000¼¯ºÏ
How menopause radically changes the brain – and what happens after
Features

Mind
‘Fusogenic’ neurosurgery let paralysed pigs walk again – are we next?
Comment
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
How menopause radically changes the brain – and what happens after
2
Faecal transplant makes the brains of old mice act young again
3
New-to-science spider builds trap that flings ants into the air
4
We've found a mysterious substance on Titan and Pluto
5
A promising natural technique to remove CO2 could backfire
6
Woman with Alzheimer's starts conversing again after taking psilocybin
7
A quantum state that lasts forever may finally be within our grasp
8
People training new AI models admit they just get chatbots to do it
9
Can prebiotics, probiotics or postbiotics help your ageing microbiome?
10
‘Fusogenic’ neurosurgery let paralysed pigs walk again – are we next?