U.S. Navy Making Android, iOS App-Controlled RoboCopter Drones

The military, as we've come to expect, is continuing to tinker with developing drones that can be controlled by Android and iOS apps. This time, the U.S. Navy is announcing a new $98 million project that will develop unmanned helicopters for the Marines. But unlike other drones, these will be completely autonomous meaning they will not need human operators for take off and landing.

Researchers are still being sought for the new program, which is called Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System (AACUS) and will span five years. The purpose of the drone helicopters will be to deliver supplies and combat essentials to Marines, but they will eventually be used in delivering supplies for medical missions as well as casualty evacuations.

The idea behind the autonomous helicopter drone is that it works for people without any flight experience. The user simply requests an emergency supply via an iOS or Android app and the drone will automatically deliver the supplies, landing as close to the person as possible. All this is done almost without any any input from the user in terms of take off, flight planning, navigation, and landing.

[via YTech]