Phantom Twist Drone Spins So Fast It Becomes Nearly Invisible Due to Motion Blur
Researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois have developed a novel drone called the Phantom Twist, which spins at 25 rotations per second, making it nearly invisible to the human eye due to motion blur. Unlike traditional quadcopters, the drone has a single motor and propeller, with the propeller and body spinning in opposite directions for stability. The design was refined using AI and optimization algorithms that evaluated roughly 20,000 configurations, narrowing them down to 500 based on visibility scores against real-world backgrounds. According to lead researcher Michael Rubenstein, the drone is 10 times less visually perceptible than a conventional quadcopter. The team acknowledges the drone is noisy and plans to use quieter propulsion systems and transparent materials in future versions. The work was presented at the Robotics: Science and Systems 2026 conference.
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