A California company that makes unmanned drone aircraft for the U.S. military has unveiled a tiny flying drone that looks like a hummingbird. The airborne spy is part of a new kind of military technology that also has civilian uses.
Several years in development, the so-called nano-hummingbird is a smaller and more maneuverable version of drones now used by the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan. It looks like a real hummingbird with quickly flapping wings, and just like the real bird, can hover in mid-air and fly backwards.
The company that created it, AeroVironment, develops and tests drones outside Los Angeles. They give observers an eye in the sky, and spot objects and track people on the ground.
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