Micro drones

Tiny aerial drones have many potential uses, but their ability to navigate is severely limited by their minuscule amount of onboard processing power. Scientists have now set about addressing that limitation, taking a cue from foraging insects such as ants.

A technology-enthusiast has invented a Nerf gun turret that can automatically track and shoot down small drones. The ingenious contraption uses a Kinect v2 sensor and a milled steel two-axis gimbal, all controlled by software based on the OpenCV AI library.

Researchers at Stanford University have modified teeny flying robots so that they can squat down and move objects 40 times their weight.​ The FlyCroTug bots could haul debris from disaster zones, or lower cameras into crumbling ruins. Or even open doors.

Aerix Drones (formerly known as Axis Drones) has evolved one of its most successful models with a virtual reality twist. The Vidius VR drone is designed to immerse users in live, first-person-view flights through special VR goggles.

The Rook drone from Eighty Nine Robots is intended to allow users to remotely do a sweep of the interior of their homes from anywhere in the world via a Wi-Fi connection and an iOS or Android device.

Interested in remote-controlled flying with FPV? We spent some time behind the controls of an eye in the sky, with the latest quadcopter from Axis Drones, the Vidius.​

As the Extreme Fliers Micro Drone 3.0 begins to ship to its crowd funding backers, we got the chance to play with one at Toy Fair in London. We watched this diminutive drone whizz and flip over people’s heads and got to try out its First Person View flying feature.

Billed as the world's smallest FPV drone, the Axis Vidius is capable of live-streaming vision from the aircraft to the pilot's mobile device.

BitDrones are flying 3D display pixels that are designed to swarm in their thousands to produce giant, interactive graphic displays that could be used for the likes of 3D gaming, medical imaging, and molecular modelling.

Axis Drones has a number of successful quadcopters in its product lineup, and its latest, the Aerius, is touted as their smallest one yet. We get some hands-on and air time with this wee little wonder.

In developing its new Micro Drone 3.0, UK company Extreme Fliers has set out to work features typically found in high-end drones into a smaller package, namely HD video stabilized by a tiny gimbal and compatibility with Google cardboard VR for first-person view flying.