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Piccolissimo Self-Powered Flying Robot: Guinness Record

caption: Mark Wim and Matt Piccoli, with PiccolissimoGuinness World Records has officially recognized Piccolissimo as the World’s Smallest Self-Powered Flying Robot.

Italian for “tiniest,” Piccolissimo was created by Matt Piccoli, a graduate student in professor Mark Yim’s ModLab. The robot comes in two sizes; the smaller weighs less than 2.5 grams and is about the width of a quarter, while the larger, steerable version is about 2 grams heavier and a centimeter wider.

Piccolissimo has only two moving parts: a propeller and the body of the robot itself. Made out of light, 3D-printed plastic, Piccolissimo’s body spins in the opposite direction as the propeller. Precisely timed speed changes, controlled by an infrared signal, can turn the robot one way or another.

While Piccolissimo’s small size limits how much it can carry—about a gram’s worth of payload—it is enough for a small camera or other types of sensors.

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