Chinese military robotics lab creates mosquito-sized microdrone for covert operations
State broadcaster CCTV showcases defence university’s miniature bionic robots suited to reconnaissance and battlefield missions
“Here in my hand is a mosquito-like type of robot. Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on the battlefield,” Liang Hexiang, a student at NUDT, told CCTV while holding up the drone between his fingers.
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In the video of the unmanned aerial vehicle, two tiny wings with a leaflike structure were attached to the sides of the stick-shaped drone body along with three hair-thin “legs”.
The report highlighting advances in robotics engineering also showed a prototype controlled via smartphone with four wings, two moving horizontally on each side of the body.
Their tiny size makes manufacturing this new type of drone challenging: sensors, power devices, control circuits and other elements must fit into a very small space. It requires collaboration between various disciplines, such as the engineering of microscopic devices, materials science and bionics.
The micro UAV Black Hornet, a palm-sized, helicopter-shaped drone developed in Norway, is widely used by armed forces around the globe.