Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
DelFly Micro Smallest Camera Plane
The DelFly Micro is an amazing micro air vehicle; it is the world's smallest airplane that is equipped with a camera. With a weight of just three grams, and a four-inch wingspan, the DelFly Micro is an ornithopter enthusiast's dream come true.
Take a look at the Delfly Micro video below.
(DelFly Micro video - World's smallest camera plane)
The tiny aircraft was built by a four-man research team from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. The first public flight was made on May 5th.
Flapping its little wings 30 times per second, it has yet to achieve autonomous flight. The pilot uses a joystick on a remote control, steering the little plane based on the video feed from the micro air vehicle's (MAV) tiny camera.
Made of PET film (used for the wings), balsa wood and carbon, the DelFly Micro is powered by a tiny lithium polymer battery that weighs just 1 gram and generates 30 milliampere hours of power — enough to keep the insect-sized MAV flying for 3 minutes.Together with its associated transmitter, the DelFly Micro's video camera weighs only about 0.4 grams. The DC brush motor driving its flapping wings weighs 0.45 grams, the two magnetic actuators that operate its directional and elevator rudders weigh 0.5 grams, and its operating electronics 0.2 grams. Another 0.5 grams of structure brings the total weight of the DelFly Micro to 3.07 grams.
Although the DelFly Micro looks more like a dragonfly, I can't help but think of the amazing Scarab flying insect robot from Raymond Z. Gallun's The Scarab, published in Astounding Stories magazine in 1936.
The Scarab rubbed its hind legs together, as flies will do when at rest. Then, apparently satisfied that it was in condition, it unfolded the coleoptera-like plates over its wings. With a buzz that any uninformed person would have mistaken for that of a beetle, it started out on its journey.
(Read more about the scarab flying insect robot)
The Scarab was also flown by remote control; the pilot was able to see what the Scarab saw with its "minute vision tubes."
I'd also like to point out the robot tracking device mentioned in Philip K. Dick's 1960 novel Vulcan's Hammer, as well as the stick-tights from Jack Vance's 1964 novel The Star King.
Don't miss these exciting MAV developments:
- Honeywell Micro Air Vehicle Tested By Miami Police
There seem to be some difficulties with using these aircraft in U.S. air space. - Micro Air Vehicle In Use In Iraq
The MAV has performed well in urban environments as well as open field - COM-BAT Robotic 'Bat' On Order From UM
The bat-like MAV (micro air vehicle) would gather data from urban combat zones and transmit the information in real time to soldiers. - Swarming Micro Air Vehicle Networks (SMAVNET)
Their system makes use of minimum cost MAVs which rely on local communication - Small Robot Surveillance Balloons Like Niven's Copseye
A miniature robot surveillance balloon that would be capable of autonomous movement in groups.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 7/24/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Quaise Uses Beams Of Energy To Dig Geothermal Wells
'The peculiar quality of this light, which gave it its great preeminence over all other penetrating rays...'
Robots Repair And Modify Themselves
'The overworked leg motor would have to cool down before he could work on it...'
Waymo And Tesla 'Autonomous Cabs' Are Piloted By Remote Drivers
‘Where to, sport?’ the starter at cab relay asked.
Robot Janitors Get To Work
'A few mechanical cleaning devices crept here and there...'
Robots Learn To Install Charged Batteries Into Themselves
This is nothing new for science fiction fans!
Robot Rabbits Entice Pythons
'That little robot rabbit knew what it was talking about...'
LLM 'Cognitive Core' Now Evolving
'Their only check on the growth and development of Vulcan 3 lay in two clues: the amount of rock thrown up to the surface... and the amount of the raw materials and tools and parts which the computer requested.'
Has Elon Musk Given Up On Mars?
'There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.'
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
When Your Child's Best Friend Is An AI
'Figments of his mind in one sense, of course, for he had shaped them...'
China's Drone Mothership Can Carry 100 Drones
'So the parent drone carries a spotter that it launches...'
Drones Recharge In Mid-Air Like Jets Refuel!
'...nurse drones that would cruise around dumping large amounts of power into randomly selected pods.'
Australian Authors Reject AI Training Of Llama
'It's done with a flip of the third joint of the tentacle on the down beat.'
Is China Mining Helium-3 On The Moon's Farside?
'...for months Grantline bores had dug into the cliff.'
Maybe It's Too Soon To Require Autonomous Mode
'I hope all those other cars are on automatic,' he said anxiously.
Is Agentic AI The Wrong Kind Of Smartness?
'It’s smart enough to go wrong in very complicated ways, but not smart enough to help us find out what’s wrong.'
