Dragonfly Spy Cameras Go Everywhere Insects Can
As if insects weren’t bad enough already. Now you’re going to have to keep an eye on more than just the ones that bite. That’s because the day has finally come, the DelFly II, developed by the Delft University of Technology is a dragonfly and a spy camera all rolled into one.
This little critter has a ten centimeter wingspan, weighs just 16 grams and can glide for fifteen minutes at up to 30mph. Why would you worry about a spy camera that’s whizzing by so fast? That’s because it can also hover in place against the wind, fly backwards and vertical. All while watch you taking a shower like it’s nobody’s business.
Interestingly enough, the flight system was the easy part. It was miniaturizing the electronics, camera, and controls that posed a problem. The camera doesn’t have just one sole purpose. It works in conjunction with an image stabilization engine, comparing the controls of the pilot with images while self-balancing its movement for more stable footage. Software determines which targets to track and for how long.
The team is currently working on an even smaller version of the insect. Version 3.0 will be one third the size of it’s daddy, measuring in at 5cm. Future uses, besides espionage, could include tracking victims of natural disasters or saving the day in a chemical spill.
If you ask me those are just politically correct ways to say they’ll be used to watch what’s going on with the girl next door.
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Zath said
am November 3 2007 @ 1:54 am
The miniturization of technology never fails to fascinate me – I sometimes have moments of wonder considering these kind of things, even after having used them for months/years.
Technology is amazing!
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 3 2007 @ 2:11 am
@Zath, something at this magnitude with so many working parts had me in awe. Innovations like these are putting pieces of the larger tech puzzle together.
mytriangles » Dragonfly Spy Cameras Go Everywhere Insects Can said
am November 4 2007 @ 2:34 pm
[...] You can read the full story here [...]
Patrick said
am November 4 2007 @ 11:43 pm
wow…a friend of mine from Ga. Tech told me about this about eight or nine years ago, now it’s a reality…
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 5 2007 @ 12:36 am
@Patrick, isn’t it fascinating to see something like this materialize after so much hard work and determination?
lordmanilastone said
am November 5 2007 @ 8:00 am
the ones in the video are rather big, their size might spoil the real objective of the invention, good thing they are working on making smaller ones, i think saw this once in a certain movie, i just can’t seem to recall which one^^
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 6 2007 @ 12:16 pm
@lordmanilastone, smaller ones will be on the way soon enough. Even at 10cm, this little bugger is pretty amazing.
Gary M said
am November 11 2007 @ 5:19 pm
It looks as if it needs another 5 or 6 years development. I note that a lot was filmed inside; the reason is probably that the machine couldn’t cope with any wind above a light breeze and, with those wings, a rain-storm or fire would be right out!
At the speed it travels and the range it has, it is of little use for spying, tracking spillages or victims of natural disasters – the operator would have to be in shouting distance of the object/person to get the thing to see them.
I’m not surprised that there is a musical backing track to this – what sort of noise does it make?
A nice bit of blue-skies development but I’m not buying shares in the company just yet. If I wanted the job done in this way, I’d get a radio-controlled model helicopter.
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 11 2007 @ 5:59 pm
@Gary M, that was my first thought too. However, the website says that it is capable of flying in high winds due to the shape and movement of the wings. I have no clue how it would fare in a rain or fire storm. Most likely not too great just yet.
The camera does have limited range. It would be great if they could add an infrared camera to track heat signatures.
As far as noise goes, they say that it makes the same amount of noise as an actual dragonfly and has a bio-heat signature. That means it can’t be tracked by run of the mill equipment.
puttputt said
am November 17 2007 @ 12:09 am
Neat now the Government can use it to hunt down and spy on people. Oh joy! We will be living in a techno totalitarian society being watched 24/7.
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 17 2007 @ 1:58 am
@puttputt, yeah Big Brother really has a different meaning these days, doesn’t it? At least now we know we’ll have to watch out backs from insects too.
synthpulse said
am November 20 2007 @ 9:20 pm
Mechanical dragonflies seen in the wild!!!
Check out this news story:
http://www.milforddailynews.com/opinion/x179810951
Jerad Kaliher said
am November 20 2007 @ 11:44 pm
@synthpulse, that story was an interesting twist. I wouldn’t be surprised if these are already being used in the field as classified. You never do know what those sneaky guys are up to.
Deltafly « Yes said
am November 24 2007 @ 9:09 pm
[...] 25, 2007 Deltafly Posted by samholland under Uncategorized From Bust A Change, here’s a video of another futuristic technology->reality, one that really begs the [...]
stacy said
am March 20 2008 @ 10:19 am
cool but is it for sale
I would pay arpund £20-£30.00 for it
Newbeak said
am October 13 2008 @ 11:20 am
One fly (pun not intended) in the ointment-these things are attracting insect eating predators,according to something I read,so the designers have something else to contend with.