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TechNorthwestern University's Phantom Twist drone spins at 25 rotations per second, becoming nearly invisible
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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.
Source report
Researchers from Northwestern University in Illinois have developed a drone that rotates so rapidly it becomes cloaked by motion blur. The new Phantom Twist drone spins at 25 times per second, exploiting a quirk of human vision to appear as little more than a faint smudge in the air. A video demonstration showcases the effect, though observers note the device produces a noticeable whining noise.
First Public Demonstration
The Phantom Twist was first demonstrated as part of a presentation at the Robotics: Science and Systems 2026 conference on Thursday.
"Most efforts to hide drones focus on making them look like their surroundings," said Northwestern's Michael Rubenstein, who led the research. "Instead, we asked whether we could design the drone itself around the way humans perceive motion. This idea of low visibility through persistent motion is something few people have explored."
Unique Design
A stationary photograph of the Phantom Twist reveals a design far removed from the traditional quadcopter. According to a Northwestern University blog post, the drone features:
- One motor and one propeller
- The propeller spins in one direction, while the rest of the drone spins in the opposite direction
AI-Driven Design Process
The research team used a computational model to generate approximately 20,000 drone configurations capable of stable flight. They then applied AI and other optimization algorithms to repeatedly rearrange the drone's major components, including:
- Motor
- Propeller
- Circuit board
- Counterweight
- Batteries
After narrowing the candidates to around 500, the engineers superimposed simulated drones in flight over a hundred real-world backgrounds. A perception model then further reduced the designs based on their visibility scores.
According to Rubenstein, the entire process was automated: "Only when we were confident that a drone met all our criteria, we built it."
The resulting Phantom Twist drone is reportedly "10 times less visually perceptible than a conventional quadcopter" based on the researchers' visibility metrics.
Future Improvements
The team acknowledges that the Phantom Twist is rather noisy, and the visual impact of its wires and support rods could be reduced. Planned revisions include:
- Using more transparent materials
- Implementing quieter propulsion systems
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Phantom Twist Drone Spins So Fast It Becomes Nearly Invisible Due to Motion Blur