Scientists create a flying drone equipped with a 3D printer

It’s almost like someone played buzzword bingo in the creation of the flying 3D printer drone, but it could have some pretty cool applications in the real world. Created by a team led by Dr Mirko Kovac of the Imperial College of London’s Department of Aeronautics, it’s inspired by birds. More specifically, it’s inspired by a bird called the swiftlet, which uses saliva to build its nests. The saliva, once in place, hardens, becoming a safe home for the birds. Dr Kovac’s system, mounted on a quad- or hexacopter, works in a similar fashion. Rather than the traditional plastic extruder, the “printer” consists of cartridges containing two separate chemicals. When these are mixed together by the printing module, which sprays them at the target, they form a polyurethane foam.