Very cool tech - if they can pull it off.

The Army wants a robotic bat with some interesting specifications:

• stereo cameras
• microphone(s)
• radar
• self-guided
• "energy scavenging" recharging
• radio transmitter (and presumably receiver)
• 6" long
• 4oz
• use 1W to fly
• lithium ion backup battery
• solar/vibration/wind charger

University of Michigan got a $10M grant ($2M/year for five years), which it is using to create the "Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology" (COM-BAT - who says they don't have a punny sense of humour?)

They will focus on shrinking current tech to the desired form factor, and on the creation of "quantum dot solar cells".

Very cool.