Insect Drones Are Already Here And Getting Smaller

We have all see drones in the headlines over the past few years, but that has done a lot to intrigue those who want to have their own drones for flying. And with that, the size of the drones has been scaled down to a much smaller size for hobbyists to be able to join in. They have moved to the 4 propeller helicopter style drones moving the prices downward to under $1,000. But that is not enough as they have now moved down to the size of insect drones. And the number of them is increasing.

It is being reported that Harvard has released a paper describing the work they are doing with robotic insects being able to fly. The video below from Harvard demonstrates what they are doing and where the size of robot drones is going. And the tiny little insect drones are very tiny. And with that comes stealth which is far better than the large drones that the military flies today. The value of these tiny insect drones is going to be huge for the military.

But for the rest of us, it is going to be a few more years before they will be available for the hobbyist types to get their hands on. But, there are some larger insects which will be available soon. And that will more than likely be some time this year. The Robot DragonFly from TechJect should be available for purchase this summer. And a more sophisticated BionicOpter from Festo should arrive by the end of the year. These two can be controlled by your smart phone and will be the smallest ones available to the public for now.

If you think that these small size insect drones are not being used, you only have to realize that the military uses technology for years before it is available to the public. There are reports the government has been working on insect drones for years. Now, with the positive demonstration from Harvard, scientists have clearly shown that tiny insect drones are soon going to be available for all to purchase.

With DragonFly drones available this year to purchase and explore, what we will see next year as a much smaller robot drone is anyone's guess. But, it will not be too long before we see these tiny little insect drones for sale.

Robot DragonFly - Your Personal Drone Flies Like A DragonFly

If you are a fan of personal drones and are looking to purchase one this year, the market is growing. And the size of the drones continues to get smaller and as a result, we are seeing prices moving downward as well. Much of what has been out there resembles a plane or helicopter in the design and flight. We are now seeing them move to mimic things in nature and recently has been to have them look and fly like a dragonfly. Having them hover, move forward and back is exactly what is desired in working with a personal drone.

The Robot DragonFly was an Indiegogo project last year and things are coming close as they prepare to begin shipping for the Robot DragonFly. Each model will come with an on board computer for control. You control these with an app on either your Android or iOS smart phone giving you the control in the palm of your hand. They are saying that battery life will vary depending on how you are flying it. If you are just hovering the robot, battery life will be between 8 to 10 minutes. Battery life continues to be the big problem with all mobile technology.

They are building in a hybrid mode which will do a combination of gliding and powering the wings which is reportedly going to give you 25 to 30 minutes of flight time. That is more than enough time to work with your personal DragonFly as you fly it around. Each model has different feature sets and the entry level is not going to have the hover capability, so you will need to look at a more expensive model. And as the models go up in price, so do the features, such as an included camera.

These are small as compared to other drones and the body is about 6 inches long, so it is pretty small. And the DragonFly is light starting at less than an ounce making it very portable and when folded up can clip into your pocket. Most of the weight is in the 250 mAh lithium polymer battery. The US Air Force thought so much of TechJect was planning to develop that they gave them a grant of $1 million to fund the process. And that was last year. They are wrapping up the development and manufacture of multiple versions of the Robot DragonFly this quarter.

The DragaonFly comes from TechJect.com and with the scheduled date some time in July for release, there is going to be growing interest in the very small drone. The initial shipments will be for the basic model with more advanced ones coming in September and October. And with the various products being offered, it is going to meet the needs of many to work with their own personal drone. Those who helped fund the product jumped in at low prices which started at $99 for the base model. We expect to see things a little higher than that when they are made available to the public. And there will be an ultimate model which should be priced at less than $2,000. Watch for the DragonFly in the fall and pick one up.

DragonFly Drone: BionicOpter Controlled By Your Phone

Drones have become of great interest this year and that does not look like it is going to slow down any time soon. That is because they are growing smaller and a drone will be affordable for just about everyone. The ones on the market right now are much smaller than the drone we think of which the military uses. But, if you look at the consumer drone of today, there are even smaller ones making there way to market this year.

The DragonFly Drone, BionicOpter from Festo, is the kind of product which will be showing up for sale and will be one that everyone wants to have. This drone is only 17.3 inches long and has a wing span of just under 25 inches. Pretty impressive based on how well it flies and it weighs about 6 ounces. The video below shows you just what it can do. And best of all, you can control this with your smart phone. If you do not have a smart phone to use for this, there will be a wireless controller available.

With the 4 wings, the BionicOpter drone can easily hover and move about in any direction including backwards with ease. All of the details on this drone are available from the company in a PDF which is located in Germany. All of this is building on the previous flying drone from the company which is called SmartBird which demonstrated they could have realistic flight for a bird. This was shown at TEDGlobal in July 2011.

While there has been no announcements yet about when they might release this drone to the public, it may be that a much smaller model could become available to the public. That would reduce the costs and make this one more affordable. Exactly when that might be is an unknown, but with the successful presentations this month, it is only a matter of time before other companies jump in with cheaper models and attempt to grab the market. We would assume that some form of the BionicOpter drone will be coming to market this year.