Meet Lisa/S The World's Smallest Autopilot

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) can attend an extensive array of different missions, needing a certain level of autonomous flight. The central element making this possible is the autopilot, which controls the vehicle on the basis of incoming (sensory) information. A central ability for many existing practical applications, such as land survey, or exploration of outdoor environments, is the GPS-based flight.

This is Lisa/S from Delft, the Netherlands.

Weighing 2g and measuring 2cm by 2cm she is a mini marvel. Although she can be remote controlled, Lisa/S can also fly herself making her the world’s smallest autopilot or UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle). Due to microtechnology, Lisa/S can provide a useful pair of eyes transmitting images to a computer via Wi-Fi.

“Let’s say you have a fire, you take out the UAV and you let the UAV fly and you have a nice overview of the situation on fire front, of the entire situation, which can save lives. Also, when a house is collapsed, after a disaster, like an earthquake or something and you need to send people to search for survivors, in this case, you can send a very small, lightweight UAVs in the building. If the UAV is lost, no problem, you can take a new one, but if a human life is lost then that is a much bigger problem,” says Bart Remes from the Deft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

On a hot day, Lisa/S can also be used as a desk fan.