Robot dragonfly DelFly Explorer flies autonomously

The DelFly Explorer is the first flapping-wing micro air vehicle that is able to fly with complete autonomy in unknown environments. Weighing just 20 g, it is equipped with a 4 g onboard, stereo-vision system. The DelFly Explorer can perform an autonomous take-off, maintain its height, and avoid obstacles for as long as its battery lasts (~9 min). All sensing and processing is performed onboard, so no human or offboard computer is in the loop.