Well, while this is a novel or different approach. It isn't seeming very streamlined, or agile.


RedHotPoker

Hmm, what's the point of it?

Just to keep on rolling along... ;-)
Perhaps for flying in caves, or small spaces, with a shrunk down version?
Not privy... But their blurb reads:
Looking like a cross between the IT-O interrogator droid from Star Wars and a disco ball from hell, the All-Terrain Land and Air Sphere, or ATLAS, from Unmanned Cowboys is a rotorcraft with a spherical “exoskeleton.” The frame protects it when it crashes and enables the operator to adjust it and put it back into flight without touching it. (See video)  It’s ideal for those situations when you may want to throw a drone into a room to collect intelligence but don’t want to go in and pick it up when you slam into the doorframe.

RedHotPoker

Geebax Posted at 2016-6-9 14:33
Hmm, what's the point of it?

Aloha Geebax,

     The Big Box stores (Walmart, Costco, etc.) and warehouse companies (i.e. Amazon) need inventory control in large open facilities and it is going to get more demanding in the future.  SphereDrones are ideal for operations in tight spaces as noted by RedHot.  With multi-bladed props, counter-rotation and shrouds, they can be near-silenced and varied in size.  They could even operate while customers are in the store if needed and customers agree.  A customer could even summon a SphereDrone to find a product, like they would an employee, through a simple interface.

     Basic sensor based navigation systems allow the SphereDrones to use computerized methodologies so companies can manage warehouse inventory.  RFID chips on inventory and RFID readers on SphereDrones flesh out the technology for the simplest systems as do bar code scans for redundancy or confirmation.

     Quite ingenious if you think about it.

Aloha and Drone On!

Wow it is interesting.

It looks so light! If our phantom can have an exo available just like that, ours will be better that thing! I think..

it is so cool