Fully Autonomous Flapping-wing MAV Is As Light As 4 Sheets of A4 Paper

Hallie Siegel writes "According to its developers, the DelFly Explorer is the first flapping wing Micro Air Vehicle (MAV) that is able to fly with complete autonomy in unknown environments. Weighing just 20 grams and with a wingspan of 28cm, it is equipped with an onboard stereo vision system. The DelFly Explorer can perform an autonomous take-off, keep its height, and avoid obstacles for as long as its battery lasts (~9 minutes). All sensing and processing is performed on board, so no human or offboard computer is in the loop."

Re:In anticipation...

[Cimexus]

Um, are you sure? If by "room" you mean surface area, A4 paper is slightly larger than letter.

A4 = 210 x 297 mm = 62,370 mm^2
Letter = 215.9 x 279 mm = 60,322 mm^2 (rounded to nearest mm^2)

Re:4 sheets of A4? How much is it in a sane unit?

[mark-t]

Imperial, huh? Okay... If the measurement they gave in grams in the article was precise, you can take your pick of imperial measurement here... either 308.65 grains, 11.29 drams, 12.86 pennyweights, or 15.43 scruples.