Pentagon's Tiny New Spy Drone Mimics Hummingbird
Meet the military's newest unmanned aerial vehicle, a camera-equipped drone known simply as a nano hummingbird. The drone, which for now is just a research project, recently demonstrated eight minutes of sustained flight.
The video released by the company shows the bird-like aircraft flying into a building and relaying imagery, demonstrating its ability to act like a spy drone.
The hummingbird drone is being developed by AeroVironment with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the far-out research and development arm of the Pentagon.
AeroVironment also builds a number of other small UAVs for the military, like the Wasp, Raven and Puma. But the Hummingbird, with a wing span of 6.5 inches and weighing in at just two-thirds of an ounce, is by far the smallest of the company's drones.
Among the challenges for such tiny aircraft is building a power source that can sustain longer periods of flight. The Air Force Research Laboratory is also working on drones that can mimic birds and has plans for a pigeon-sized UAV that can recharge while perching on power lines.
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Feb. 18, 2011