China’s mosquito-sized drone and the global race for micro-UAVs Introduction to micro-UAV technology

A prototype NUDT micro-UAV roughly 1.3 cm long, featuring a central MEMS-based fuselage, four transparent polymer “leaf” wings driven by micro-actuators, three hair-fine landing legs, and a control tether designed to mimic mosquito flight in covert surveillance applications.

The National University of Defense Technology (NUDT) in Hunan, China, has unveiled a groundbreaking micro-unmanned aerial vehicle (micro-UAV) resembling a mosquito in both size and functionality.