In the late 1480s, Italian artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci designed a one-person helicopter propelled by a single aerial screw. He never actually built the contraption - the design remained a sketch.
But last year, Austin Prete, a graduate student in the aerospace of engineering department of the University of Maryland, and his team successfully translated da Vinci's design into a screw-winged quadcopter drone.
Where did da Vinci fail? Well, he did not—he was simply born in an era with no access to durable materials and compact energy sources. On the other hand, Prete and his team were able to use aluminum, plastic, electric motors, batteries and computer control systems to build the drone.
Prete showcased the team's drone, including a video of its first flight, at the Transformative Vertical Flight 2022 conference in San Jose, California.
#drone #ScrewDrone #LeonardodaVinci #UniversityofMaryland
Image source: Austin Prete at the University of Maryland; Library of Congress