SEATTLE: Tech company AeroVironment, Inc has announced successful flight trials of the tiny robot spy "Hummingbird" prototype, which the company has been working on since 2006, a uk based website reported.
The hand-made prototype aircraft has a wingspan of 16 centimeters (6.5 inches) tip-to-tip and has a total flying weight of 19 grams (2/3 ounce), which is less than the weight of a common AA battery. This includes all the systems required for flight; batteries, motors, communications systems and video camera. The aircraft can be fitted with a removable body fairing, which is shaped to have the appearance of a real hummingbird, the statement said.
The mini spy plane can fly up to 11 miles an hour and took five years to develop at a cost of $4million.
The Nano humming bird is part of the Phase II contract awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program and has both whimsy and espionage potential.
The hand-made prototype aircraft has a wingspan of 16 centimeters (6.5 inches) tip-to-tip and has a total flying weight of 19 grams (2/3 ounce), which is less than the weight of a common AA battery. This includes all the systems required for flight; batteries, motors, communications systems and video camera. The aircraft can be fitted with a removable body fairing, which is shaped to have the appearance of a real hummingbird, the statement said.
The mini spy plane can fly up to 11 miles an hour and took five years to develop at a cost of $4million.
The Nano humming bird is part of the Phase II contract awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program and has both whimsy and espionage potential.