Micro helicopters? The latest novelty in the MAV (Micro Aerial Vehicles) field is coming from the heart of old Europe, and more precisely from Switzerland, where a student from the Ecole Polytechnique Federale in Lausanne is at work on the development of a swarm of flying micro transmitters, capable of flying towards a specific point of interest, such as a crime scene or the scene of a natural disaster, and to perch on top of trees or walls, in a position from where they can easily gather information, images and data, and transmit them.
This result is achieved thanks to a couple of prongs, mounted on the front side of the flying robot. These stings are part of a small module, weighing approximately 4 grams, which can be applied on basically all vehicles of this kind currently available on the market.
What mechanism do micro helicopters work on?
Once the micro aerial vehicle reaches its target, these prongs would stick into the surface, keeping it in place and allowing it to start its work, gather images and intelligence, and transmit it.
In an experimental phase, this module is being mounted on a small glider, but in the future it should be possible to use it also on battery-powered flying robots. The stings can easily penetrate any wooden surface, but they are resistant enough to make holes also on a concrete surface, making them very useful for reconnaissance and data collection, for example during a city fire, to reach areas where firemen are unable to go.
Once the mission is completed, a small remotely controlled motor would withdraw the prongs from the wall, allowing the MAV to come back to its launch base, ready to be used again for a new reconnaissance or imaging assignment.