Vijay Kumar and his team at the University of Pennsylvania are pushing the boundaries of flying technology and in the process they may have created the coolest quadcopter so far, the Pico Quadrotor. Smaller, faster, smarter and then smaller again, this is the name of game in the lab.

Presented for your viewing pleasure are the Pico flyers tamed and trained for our entertainment. Sit back, relax and prepare to be amazed by these miniature flying machines.

Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and weighing only 25 grams the Pico is one tiny flying machine. Buzzing around like a four winged mosquito the Pico is naturally robust being small and of low mass, add a protective frame as the team did and you have a tough and safe little gadget. The tiny 11mm blades spin at over 15,000RPM during hover and drive the Pico through the air at up to 6 meters per second making it quite a zippy little machine.

The swarm control is equally impressive; the team have developed control systems that enable an almost spooky looking formation flight mode with a leader and followers, a visual demonstration of digital motion, very precise.

Reference: Vijay Kumar lab