DelFly MAV Does It All In Only 16 Grams
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Friday, 2 of November , 2007 at 4:37 am
The DelFly II, developed by the Delft University of Technology, is one of those miracles of construction that, at first glance, doesn’t seem to be physically possible. In a 16 gram package, this ornithopter can fly for at least 15 minutes (at a maximum speed of 30mph) or hover in place for 8. It can take off and land vertically, and can even fly backwards. It’s fully out of sight controllable thanks to realtime onboard streaming video (!). Since it uses flapping wings, it’s quiet, efficient, and robust enough to fly comfortably in wind and survive collisions with objects. Check out the video:
The most amazing thing is that this design is the LARGE version. Currently in development is the DelFly Micro, which will be a third this size, followed by the DelFly Nano, which should have a wingspan of only 5cm, making it effectively invisible. These bots will be used for espionage (of course), but also (the designers suggest) for disaster relief or airborne pollution tracking. It’s worth noting that DelFly is based in the Netherlands, which is probably the only reason why they have yet to be consumed by the US military. Maybe, just maybe, there might be some hope of commercial availability.
Okay, probably not, but I can dream, can’t I?
[ DelFly ] VIA [ Danger Room ]
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Comment by Alex
Made Friday, 2 of November , 2007 at 10:07 am
Thats so friggin awesome. Not really a bot tho, post on Ohgizmo too?
Comment by Evan Ackerman
Made Friday, 2 of November , 2007 at 3:27 pm
It all depends on what you decide to call a robot… But you’re correct that it’s more of an R/C plane at this stage. However, I think the goal for these little guys is to use the video system to allow for unmanned operations, which would make them true robots.
Comment by Alex
Made Saturday, 3 of November , 2007 at 6:17 am
Ah, Thanks for posting it all the same. ;)
Comment by lordofvermillion
Made Saturday, 17 of November , 2007 at 11:20 am
Theres definately commercial potential here, and the larger version seems pretty safe to release to the public. i wonder how much they cost?