Researchers in the Netherlands have developed a flying drone after studying the flight behaviour of insects. The DelFly Nimble weighs just 29 grams and measures 33 centimetres in wingspan. Its four flapping wings beat 17 times per second.
Designer Matej Karasek explains ‘there are two tiny motors and each of them operates one wing pair.’
Its flight is intended to mimic that of winged insects and researchers hope its development will give a better understanding of how insects fly.
Professor Guido de Croon of Micro Air Vehicle Laboratory said ‘it’s so lightweight and safe that it would be really good to have this flying in an environment even around people or above people.’ He thinks the flying drones could be used to monitor stock in warehouses.
Biologists at the Netherlands’ Wageningen University collaborated in the development of DelFly Nimble. A team of experimental zoology researchers are studying flying insects’ complex wing motion patterns and aerodynamics.
Source: The Telegraph