The DelFly Micro is the world's smallest camera-equipped aircraft. It has a 4-inch wingspan and weighs just over 3 grams. Resembling a dragonfly this tiny craft carries a tiny camera that transmits live video of what it sees. Apparently it is intended to be merely the forerunner of much smaller aerial drones to come. Developed by a four-man research team from the Delft University of Technology, the DelfFly Micro was presented it to a media audience recently. Here are some specs: - The craft is made of PET film (used for the wings), balsa wood and carbon. - DelFly Micro is powered by a tiny lithium polymer battery that weighs just 1 gram and generates 30 milliampere hours of power; giving flight time of 3 minutes. - Together with its associated transmitter, the DelFly Micro's video camera weighs only about 0.4 grams. - Although the DelFly Micro can't fly backwards like the DelFly II that preceded it, the tiny MAV reaches a respectable top speed of 5 meters (16.5 feet) per second.
DelFly Micro builders are planning for subsequent DelFly generations. The Micro was completed about a year into a four-year program to create the DelFly Nano, a MAV that is intended to weigh just 1 gram and to have just a 2-inch wingspan. Its wings will need to flap much more often than the DelFly Micro to keep it flying.
DelFly Micro builders are planning for subsequent DelFly generations. The Micro was completed about a year into a four-year program to create the DelFly Nano, a MAV that is intended to weigh just 1 gram and to have just a 2-inch wingspan. Its wings will need to flap much more often than the DelFly Micro to keep it flying.
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