【The Exotic Time Machine】

The The Exotic Time Machinetiniest drones we've ever seen have lift off.

Draper Labs, an independent biomedical solutions lab, first unveiled its DragonflEye concept back in January.

The project aimed to create the smallest drone possible by doing more than just taking inspiration from the animal kingdom -- Draper's engineers literally outfitted an actual dragonfly with drone tech, putting a suite of next-gen navigation, synthetic biology, and neurotechnology systems on its back in the form of mini "backpack," which is powered by a built-in solar cell.

When the project was first announced earlier this year, there was no actual footage or even images of the drones -- just a to-scale model of a dragonfly toting the backpack. That was six months ago -- and now, the Draper team has made some impressive new progress.

New video released this week shows off Draper's progress with the DragonflEye concept, giving us a good look at how the system is applied to a real-life dragonfly.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

SEE ALSO: DJI is requiring owners to register their drones... or else

The short footage shows Draper scientists delicately placing the tech on the back of a dragonfly, which doesn't appear to be harmed by the procedure. By the end of the video, the hybrid creature takes flight -- although it's unclear whether it was controlled by Draper scientists or not.

The DragonflEye drones aren't just using the insects to create the smallest drone possible -- the tiny tech is actually built to allow Draper's engineers to control the animals remotely. The team can send commands to neurons inside the dragonfly's nerve cord, which are associated with navigation, in order to guide its flightpath.

The cyborg is also controlled by a system of optical structures, called optrodes, that target the exact neural systems needed to send navigation commands without disrupting the rest of the dragonfly's neural network.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

There are no other new details available about the DragonflEye project or its uses -- other than the video and new images, of course -- but the Draper team previously described a platform that could someday be used for surveillance, intelligence, and even to study the neural application for medical purposes in the future.

For now, though, Draper will look to hone the system for longer flights than just the straight-ahead path shown in the video. Once they've locked that down, we could have a future filled with swarms of tiny cyborgs zooming around our airspace.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Capture perfect Insta-worthy underwater selfies with this bionic fish

---

Topics Animals Drones

• Deals
• Digital Culture
• Science
• Entertainment
• Social Good
• Tech
• Shopping
• Games

• NYT Strands hints, answers for May 2
• Seth Rogen's mom tweets awkward yoga experience, gets response from Seth Rogen
• How to disable Instagram embeds (and why you should)
• OnlyFans' CEO has stepped down and appointed a spokesperson to replace him
• Best iPad deal: Save $100 on 13
• Say hello to Miniature Mail, the cutest form of communication
• Ike Barinholtz won't stop trolling Mindy Kaling on Instagram, and it's impressive
• Beyoncé was everyone's favorite part of the Met Gala and she wasn't even there
• NYT Strands hints, answers for May 5
• Lexus shows off its first electric SUV, the Lexus RZ 450e

• “February: Pemaquid Point”—A Poem by Ira Sadoff
• Walmart+ Weekend: Walmart's answer to Prime Day starts June 2
• Elon Musk created a safety mess on X. CEO Linda Yaccarino is using it to cancel appearances.
• Six Sweet Hours of Arabian Nights, and Other News by Dan Piepenbring
• Road Trip, 12 Cadillacs: A Letter from Patrick Leigh Fermor
• Who Said a Public Poem Has to Cheer You Up?
• One Percent: Geoff Dyer on Photos of Income Inequality
• Prime Day monitor deals 2023: Shop Dell, Samsung, HP, and more
• Best Prime Day robot vacuum deal: 45% off Roborock S7
• The Fine Art of the Armchair Cookbook

• Best Sony headphones deal: Over $100 off Sony XM5 headphones
• "The Witcher" Season 2 review: Geralt is back and he's dad now
• Guillermo del Toro's 'Nightmare Alley' is derailed by Bradley Cooper
• The best 4K streaming devices of 2021
• Best Apple deal: Save $19 on AirTag 4
• Never forget that Donald Glover achieved early internet fame with a sketch about pooping his pants
• "The Witcher" Season 2 review: Geralt is back and he's dad now
• OnlyFans' CEO has stepped down and appointed a spokesperson to replace him
• No Time for a Negative Peace
• In 'No Way Home' Willem Dafoe reminded us why he's the best Spider

• Best Apple deal: Save $60 on the Apple Watch SE
• Signs you're codependent with the Mueller investigation
• And now, a toast to the #CeleBreadies hashtag
• Tinder user got creative, sent match a thrilling interactive story
• Analyzing Graphics Card Pricing: May 2018
• Ariana Grande loves Jupiter, and so should you
• The best (and worst) pandemic moments from 2021 TV
• Everything coming to Netflix in January
• Today's Hurdle hints and answers for May 9, 2025
• Dating pitfalls in 2021, from hot vax summer to cuffing season