Subscription Center
Jul 23, 2008 09:48 AM | 5
Researchers at Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands today unveiled a small, remote-controlled aircraft weighing just 0.11 ounces (three grams) and with a four-inch (10-centimeter) wingspan--just large enough to accommodate an onboard camera.
The DelFly "micro air vehicle," which flaps its wings and looks like a dragonfly, can fly for about three minutes at a speed of 16.4 feet (five meters) per second. The team hopes the DelFly Micro--Delft's third-generation robot flyer (after the 0.81-ounce (23-gram) DelFly I in 2005 and the 0.56-ounce (16-gram) DelFly II a year later) will capture images from nooks and crannies that bigger cameras cannot reach. The DelFly II's camera transmits TV-quality images, allowing it to be operated from a computer using a joystick and giving the person controlling the mechanical insect the feeling of being inside the cockpit of a miniature aircraft. The researchers are hoping to further develop the DelFly Micro's camera so that it can be used the same way. They are also working to give the DelFly Micro the ability to hover (like a hummingbird) and fly backwards (the DelFly II can do both).
Next on the agenda: the DelFly NaNo, projected to weigh a single gram and have a two-inch (five-centimeter) wingspan. In addition to making ever-smaller robots, the researchers want to add image recognition software that will let the DelFlys zoom on their own without getting tangled in a tree or crashing into a wall.
(Image courtesy of the Delft University of Technology)
Tags:
insect,
Robot,
research
More News Blog:
Next: Soy vey! Does eating tofu lower sperm count?
Previous: Found: FDA officials link salmonella outbreak to Mexican-grown jalapeño
See what we're tweeting about
DNLee5 I find my self wishing I had access to IV fluids often in life.
notscientific @BecCrew @Scitable Let's face it. Who isn't already!!? DNLee5 Kinda wishing I had downloaded a Field Guide App for the iPad #DispatchesDNLee
Deadline: Jul 15 2013
Reward: $5,000 USD
SciBX: Science-Business eXchange, a joint publication from the makers
Deadline: Jun 30 2013
Reward: $1,000,000 USD
This is a Reduction-to-Practice Challenge that requires written documentation and&
Powered By: 
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
5 Comments
Add CommentThere goes our privacy... sooner or later its going to be used for surveillance
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this..and poison darts, Haider_H!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt looks like it's time to stock up on these before they become outlawed by the NSA. :)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLooks like a plantraco hingeact magnetic actuator on the tail and receiver might be custom from here too: http://www.microflight.com
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHere's the proper link: <a href="www.microflight.com">microflight.com</a>
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this