Tl:dr they have an unproven process and a pretty animation and are basically fishing for founding

The research group's publications suggest they 3D print a skeleton with embedded catalysts and release different reactants into the tank through the process to accrete a shell around the necessary electronics. http://www.chem.gla.ac.uk/cronin/publications.php

The animation seems pure fantasy, some blobs move like flubber and then spontaneously look like a plane.

Don't forget the clickbait headline.

The BBC usually flags it's dodgier stories by using single quotes somewhere in the title e.g considers 'growing' drones in this case or http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-36700571 ... 'second' gator.

What a puff piece.

>Prof Cronin admits that creating even small aircraft out of chemicals "would be very challenging".

Hey then goes on to say it might work "some time in the future". Well sure, along with cold fusion and eternal life. "Someday" is not much of a prediction, especially for a business!

Tell that to Elizabeth Holmes ...

If only someone had!

Most of the time of building is not spent shaping the parts, but in assembly, integration, and qualification. I see no improvement in those areas, so the article doesn't really being any real light.

> An animated video of what it might be like is almost a scene out of Star Wars "Attack of the Clones".

There's the irrelevant pop-culture namedrop that every science article has to have for some reason.

Eyes are just squishy cameras

Would be interesting to grow anything. Buzzing in with "drones" disqualifies it with the title...

Prey by Michael Crichton.