Phantom Twist Drone Spins at 25 Revolutions Per Second to Blur Detection

A drone developed at Northwestern University spins at 25 revolutions per second so that its components blur into a faint haze against matching backgrounds. Emma Alexander and colleagues named the device Phantom Twist and built it to fit in a palm and weigh 30 grams. The design emerged from a three-stage automated process.

An initial AI generated millions of candidate layouts and retained roughly 20,000 that could theoretically fly. A second AI then adjusted component positions to reduce visibility from every angle. A third model simulated human vision to rank each layout against varied backgrounds.

Researchers assembled only the final selection, which positions parts so none overlap while rotating. The single-motor layout ensures every element moves in a continuous circle. Alexander said the motion blur turns mechanical parts into “this slight haze” that observers may miss if they are not paying close attention.

The drone currently maintains only a steady hover. David Whitaker of Cardiff University noted that the rotation rate exceeds the speed at which the visual system can resolve separate elements, causing the brain to merge the device with its surroundings.

Peter Lee of the University of Portsmouth, who was not involved in the work, said the sparse structure limits added sensors or payloads and that gyroscopic forces would hinder rapid maneuvers.

@NewScientist reported that the drone remains audible even when visually obscured. The team plans to test transparent structural elements and further refine the AI process to account for smaller components. The researchers will present their work at the Robotics: Science and Systems conference in Sydney, Australia on 16 July.