Latest Inventions

posted by admin on Aug 5

Just like out of an old spy movie, the DragonFly - or the DelFly Micro to use it’s technical name - has taken to the skies!

Unveiled by the Delft University of Technology in Holland last month - it is the worlds smallest camera-carrying ultra-miniaturised craft (for now). More commonly called a nano air vehicle (NAV) it is made of ultra-light polymers and carbon fibre - and this one is just 4 inches across and weighs just 0.1oz!

So, this mini beast - about the size of the real insect - can fly through a building or across open spaces, beaming back live pictures of everything it sees. It is remote controlled from miles away, so you may never know it is even watching you or who is controlling it!!!

Should we be excited or frightened?

Excited:
Well, being so tiny and able to record and relay live images from almost anywhere (within their range) they will be able to warn police or the military of any crimes that are being planned or committed.

If the area of possible criminal activity can be scouted out by these little assistants, many crimes could be prevented. Similar, larger technology is already being used by the US military to get images from mountain regions in Afghanistan and Iraq on the front line, and police in the UK to watch over festivals and concerts to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Frightened:
Basically, if the next generation of DelFly machines are as tiny as they are hoping (about 2 inches) then they could be watching over us everywhere.

They have the technology being developed for the tiny robots to run autonomously, being linked to powerful computers that will interpret the images and perform complex calculations to control the little ’spy plane’ without human intervention - recording images the whole time.

They would be able to sneak into buildings without being seen and search for specific items, drawings or people, and then slip away without a trace.

But not just yet!
The technology is still being developed fully - and this mini beast can only actually fly for 3 minutes at the moment, and only moves at 10mph. As it needs to be within a few hundred feet from it’s receivers, this won’t be used for many missions just yet.

However, just like with cell phones in the 70’s - once the basic structure is working, it will definitely be improved upon, and improved again.

So, keep your screen door closed, just in-case………….

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