RobotEscape

When we wrote about the super tiny 16 gram DelFly MAV (micro air vehicle) last November, we promised that there were even smaller versions in the works, including the DelFly Micro at 5 grams. Looks like that was an overestimation, as the DelFly micro has had its maiden flight and it tips the scales at an incredibly tiny 3.07 grams. What do you get for 3.07 grams? Everything you could ask for, pretty much… The ornithopter has a 10 centimeter wingspan, is fully remote controllable, and includes an onboard camera that streams video to a base station:

The video isn’t much to write home about, but it’s easily sufficient to distinguish people and objects. It’s also apparently enough for some image recognition software to tell the DelFly where to go, but that’s a work in progress. At the size of a largeish dragonfly, this thing isn’t exactly invisible, but I imagine it’s fairly easy to mistake for something natural, if for no other reason than something the size of your palm flapping around doesn’t scream “spy robot” to most people. But don’t worry, according to the website, it’s just for science. ::cough:: Just in case the DelFly Micro isn’t quite subtle enough, Delft University of Technology is working on a bite size ‘nano’ version, which should operate at half the size of this one.