New Helicopter With Legs

CNET just released a news flash that shows a helicopter that "lands like an insect" with its legs instead of skids. It just seemed like such a funny idea that I had to read it through.

In the beginning I didn't really get why DARPA would even bother making this: it just seems like the kind of thing an overly funded Japanese company would create. Yet it does have a very significant advantage over regular skids: it can land on uneven surfaces due to its robotic legs. 

That's right, while you may not have thought of it (because you most likely never had to) those skids are very impractical for landing in, for example, natural-disaster zones and so on. And they took care of that with what might be one of the biggest breakthroughs in helicopter technology lately. And this would be best used for good. That's awesome.

This is what I call a positive, useful breakthrough that should be celebrated.