After AeroVironment’s Nano Air Vehicle, designed to look and fly like a hummingbird, researchers from Japan’s Chiba University have developed their own ‘hummingbird robot’. This Japanese creation too can fly around freely mimicking a real hummingbird in flight and movement. The robot fitted with a micro motor and four wings, is of a real hummingbird’s size about 10cm, weighs 2.6 grams and flaps wings 30-35 times a second. Using infrared sensor to turn up, down, right or left, the robot to be used for various search and surveillance tasks has been developed at a cost of more than 200 million yen (approx. $2.95 million). Best characteristic of the bot is that it is more stable than a helicopter with rotor blades when flying in a figure of eight. Researchers hope to embed a micro camera into the hummingbird robot by March 2011, making it a great prospect for the purpose designed.
Via: StraitsTimes/WSJ
