We’re not entirely sure what to call this one. It’s got the usual trappings of a drone, but with only a single rotor it clearly can’t be called by any of the standard multicopter names. Helicopter?

If you've ever watched a maple seed spiraling down from a branch, you may have marveled at how it looked like a tiny one-rotor-bladed helicopter. If you did, well, you weren't the only one. In 2009, ...

Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. In flight, the drone resembles a giant seed pod, lofted in the ...

Inspired by samaras, those helicopter-like winged seeds produced by maple trees, the F-SAM (Foldable Single Actuator Monocopter) proves that you don’t need such costly tech to make something fly. A ...

Multirotor drones may get all the glory, but fully rotating "monocopters" are actually much more energy-efficient. A new one distinguishes itself even further, as it can squeeze through narrow spaces ...

From a seed-inspired design to a 26-minute flight time on a single rotor, a new monocopter developed by SUTD researchers marks a 10-year journey towards redefining how efficient small flying robots ...

Over the years, we've seen some pretty crazy rocket-propelled projects. From a WWII rocket-powered car to bicycles that "fly" down the street, there's always some type of machinery that can use some ...

The University of Maryland has produced a flying machine with only one wing - a monocopter! Evan Ulrich, its PhD student creator, modeled the micro air vehicle (MAV) on a maple seed samara. Using a ...

Proof positive that working for a scary-ass defense company can be fun: the Samari mini monocopter. It’s a research project to develop an innovative unmanned spy drone, sure. But it also looks like ...

Every once in a while, you see a piece of cool technology that a) just works and b) looks so incredibly simple, elegant and obvious that you wonder why it took so long to create. In this case, I’m ...