Feb 25 2011
AeroVironment has declared that it has developed and successfully tested its tiny hovering unmanned aerial vehicle. It closely resembles a hummingbird with a 16cm wingspan and a weight of 19 grams.
The robot can fly in a forward direction and be operated even in constricted spaces. It can enter a building via a door of standard size and fly within the building. An operator can control its flight by means of a video feed obtained from its built-in camera.
The small unmanned aircraft was exclusively developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA has a history of developmental ideas like this, with possible applications in the defense industry that sometimes turn out t to be kind of interesting.
Todd Hylton, Chief of the Nano Air Vehicles (NAV) Effort, has stated that the successful outcomes of the NAV program have enabled the development of small unmanned aircrafts with the dexterity and resemblance of tiny birds.
Source: http://www.avinc.com