Researchers introduce a new generation of tiny, agile drones

Typically, drones require wide open spaces because they're neither nimble enough to navigate confined spaces nor robust enough to withstand collisions in a crowd. "If we look at most drones today, they're usually quite big," says Chen. "Most of their applications involve flying outdoors. The question is: Can you create insect-scale robots that can move around in very complex, cluttered spaces?" According to Chen, "The challenge of building small aerial robots is immense." Pint-sized drones require a fundamentally different construction from larger ones.