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"  The U.S. Army will begin testing 3D-printed drones early next year in a program designed to provide rapidly customizable drones. The Pentagon wants\u00A0troops in the field to have\u00A0&amp;quot;unmanned teammates&amp;quot;\u2014your new favorite euphemism for drones\u2014that can be adapted to a variety of missions. To that end,\u00A0the U.S. Army Research Lab is looking into the idea of allowing individual combat units\u2014from the battalion level down to individual soldiers\u2014to request customized drones. The drones could then be fabricated\u00A0nearby\u00A0and\u00A0delivered overnight. The Army would need to\u00A03D-print\u00A0the drone chassis, then fill\u00A0it with off-the shelf, readily available components.\u00A0 Imagine a drone\u00A0creation\u00A0workstation stocked with a handful of standard components, such as rotors, engines, wings, and infrared cameras, which could do into a drone depending upon its\u00A0requirements.\u00A0The advantage of using off-the-shelf components is that they are cheaper and\u00A0more readily available,\u00A0which makes it easier to stockpile\u00A0ahead of time.  To explain this whole program,\u00A0ARL gives the example of a reconnaissance patrol that needs an &amp;quot;unmanned teammate&amp;quot; to scout ahead in a sketchy area underneath a bridge. The patrol can radio a request for an unmanned system, and that request\u00A0is then pushed to the nearest drone fabricating facility. A workstation\u00A0generates a model of the drone, and a 3D printer builds the chassis. The chassis is filled with modular drone parts and then shipped to the patrol. The really interesting thing about this project is that it\u00A0isn&amp;#039;t about drones\u2014the U.S. Army is already well-acquainted with unmanned aerial vehicles. It&amp;#039;s about logistics, and using technology to\u00A0push out custom\u00A0equipment to\u00A0forces in the field.\u00A0 The outline of the program leaves some questions unanswered, though. For example, if the patrol in question has to wait 12 to 24 hours for a custom\u00A0drone, is there still value in that? How does the drone solve that distance issue, getting from where it is built to where it is needed?\u00A0Time and experimentation may change how this system operates. For example, it might be better to use the system to provide drones to patrols before they need them.\u00A0 Regardless, the basic idea behind it is sound and ability to quickly draw up of new types of unmanned systems\u2014overnight\u2014could help ensure that drones do dangerous work ideally suited to drones, instead of risking a soldier&amp;#039;s life.\u00A0 "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a19606/coming-soon-3d-printed-drones-for-the-us-army/>