02/21/2011

'Hummingbird' Spy Drone Takes Flight

The Pentagon hired AeroVironment to develop the tiny flying drone a few years ago. Now, its actually flying. Heres a birds eye view.

■Class discussion: The Nano Hummingbird has cost the government $4 million so far. Seems like a lot, but it still has some major shortcomings. The Australian website Gizmodo says "With a top speed of 12mph and the ability to maintain stability in up to 5mph wind gusts, the spy bird has an operating time of only 8 minutes  but thats quite the improvement from two years ago, when this whirling bird droid could only imagine 20 seconds."

Should the government be spending money this way when the economy is still not generating enough jobs? Where else could we use a few million dollars? Or is this kind of technology important to our future?