Quadcopters: small is beautiful, micro is lovely
The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences recently published works relating to their research Biologically Inspired Engineering. These works resulted in this incredibly small and yet powerful flying robotic insects
124 years from now, Clement ADER pioneered the world in the field of aeronautics by flying the first biologically inspired object “heavier than air”.
Here is a picture of the inventor studying the motion of the wings using a “fast” camera
Eole (name given to the first plane) was steam powered (Yes, steam powered! The engine was weighing 51 kg and developed 15 kW), assembled with light natural material like bamboo and controlled by an incredibly sophisticated system made of cables and pulleys attached to 6 command handles. A copy of Eole can be seen in the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris / France.
The same principles have been retained by the Wiss Institute and lead to these incredibly small flying objects
A little bit more conventional is the NanoFlyer 2.0 prototype from Pial. It is so cute and yet so handy
Pay a visit to this really cool quadcopter at Pial’s blog