Dutch researchers have created a drone that flies like a fruit fly

prospective: Researchers in the Netherlands have built a flying drone capable of very maneuverable flight, including impossible high-speed turns. They call it the "Delfly Nimble" – a flying robot that flies like an insect.

A joint team of engineers and scientists from the Delft University of Technology (MAVLab) and Wageningen University & Research micro-vehicle labs has created a self-contained winged drone capable of imitating the flight mechanics of a fly fruits. If you have ever tried to snipe a fruit fly, you know how manageable they are. Not only can the robot perform a 90-degree turn without virtually losing momentum, but it can also almost instantly reverse direction to make turns tighter than 90 degrees.

The researchers constructed an insect-like drone to help them study and understand the flight dynamics of fruit flies. However, its exceptional flight capabilities also open applications for commercial drones.

He has four wings that beat 17 beats per second. The DelFly is able to fly over and fly in any direction using only subtle adjustments to its movements. It zips at about 25 km / h and can roll over, roll over and maneuver 180 degrees.

"In addition, the 33 cm span and 29 gram robot has excellent energy efficiency for its size, allowing 5 minutes of hovering or more than 1 km of flight on a fully charged battery," said Matéj. Karásek, lead designer of the robot and lead author of a drone study published in the September issue of Science.

The DelFly Nimble is not the first of its kind. MAVLab has been building insect-like robots for over ten years. Scientists who study them see potential applications in areas other than research, but Nimble is the first to provide the maneuverability needed to make these applications workable.

"Insect-inspired drones have high potential for new applications because they are lightweight, safe for humans and can fly more efficiently than more traditional UAV models, especially at a small scale," said Professor Guido. Croon, scientist. leader at MAVLab. "However, until now, these flying robots had not realized this potential because they were not agile enough – like our DelFly II – or required an overly complex manufacturing process."

The DelFly Nimble is the first MAVLab drone that uses standard components and is based on proven manufacturing methods. In addition, its flight endurance is sufficiently wide to make it usable in "real applications".

The development of the DelFly Nimble will be continued by the Dutch NWO Scientific Foundation.