What the world looks like to a tiny flying ornithopter drone

We've seen tiny little ornithopters before, including this DelFly model from the University of Delft. But what I hadn't seen is a video stream from the little UAV like the one that's inserted picture-in-picture into the above video. It's not the clearest nor steadiest feed I've ever seen, but send out a swarm and stitch them together with a central server and you'd probably be able to canvas an area pretty quickly.

[via New Scientist]

[#1 posted by Anonymous , July 23, 2008 12:39 PM]

I am curious to know what has changed technologically in the past few years to allow development of such tiny flying gadgets. Has understanding of 'laws' of flight changed? Or has it been mainly better batteries and motors? Or materials?

[#2 posted by ururk , July 23, 2008 4:23 PM]

Reminds me of the cockroach in The Fifth Element.

[#3 posted by kaiza , July 24, 2008 3:13 AM]

It's not the clearest nor steadiest feed I've ever seen, but send out a swarm and stitch them together with a central server and you'd probably be able to canvas an area pretty quickly.

And then they develop AI, start replicating and humanity is dead because of a $5 kids toy.

[#4 posted by cha0tic , July 24, 2008 7:13 PM]

Angle the camera down a few degrees would be my cheap solution suggestion. There seems to be a lot of ceiling and strip lights in the P-in-P video.

When can I get one of these for a Christmas present?