Scientists just made a drone that’s almost invisible, and the trick is surprisingly simple: spin it really fast. 🚁
Engineers at Northwestern University built the Phantom Twist, a palm-sized drone that weighs little more than an ounce and spins 25 times per second. At that speed, the human eye can’t keep up, so instead of a drone you see a faint haze.
It isn’t truly invisible. Our eyes collect light over a short window of time, a bit like a camera’s exposure, so anything spinning fast enough blurs into the background. The drone is also almost entirely transparent, which helps it blend in even more. Rather than hiding the drone with cameras or special materials, the team designed it around how humans perceive motion.
To get the design right, they used AI to generate up to 20,000 possible drone layouts, then let optimization software find the one that flies steadily and disappears best.
The researchers see uses in inspecting infrastructure without distracting drivers and in tracking wildlife less invasively. There’s one catch: it’s still pretty noisy, so future versions will need quieter propulsion and more transparent parts to live up to the ghostly name.
Spinning fast enough to disappear: is this genius engineering or a little bit spooky? 🤔
#Drones #Science #Engineering #Innovation #Robotics
Engineers at Northwestern University built the Phantom Twist, a palm-sized drone that weighs little more than an ounce and spins 25 times per second. At that speed, the human eye can’t keep up, so instead of a drone you see a faint haze.
It isn’t truly invisible. Our eyes collect light over a short window of time, a bit like a camera’s exposure, so anything spinning fast enough blurs into the background. The drone is also almost entirely transparent, which helps it blend in even more. Rather than hiding the drone with cameras or special materials, the team designed it around how humans perceive motion.
To get the design right, they used AI to generate up to 20,000 possible drone layouts, then let optimization software find the one that flies steadily and disappears best.
The researchers see uses in inspecting infrastructure without distracting drivers and in tracking wildlife less invasively. There’s one catch: it’s still pretty noisy, so future versions will need quieter propulsion and more transparent parts to live up to the ghostly name.
Spinning fast enough to disappear: is this genius engineering or a little bit spooky? 🤔
#Drones #Science #Engineering #Innovation #Robotics
