Single-propeller 'drone' flies when you throw it like a frisbee

A drone, or quadcopter as it's technically called, typically has four propellers to generate enough thrust to let it hover in the air. The propellers are arranged in such a way to counterbalance the weight of the drone itself.

Researchers at the Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control at ETH Zurich have created a new kind of flying machine (technically, not a drone) that only needs one blade to fly.

The flying machine is called the Monospinner and is billed as the "simplest, controllable, flying machine in existence" since it lacks actuators and aerodynamic surfaces. It only has one moving part: the rotating propeller. Read more...