The Flytech Dragonfly is a
remote-controlled
In electronics, a remote control (also known as a remote or clicker) is an electronic device used to operate another device from a distance, usually wirelessly. In consumer electronics, a remote control can be used to operate devices such as ...
flying toy manufactured by
WowWee
WowWee Group Limited, is a privately owned, Hong Kong-based Canadian consumer technology company.
History
Initially from Canada, the two founding brothers (Richard and Peter Yanofsky) moved to Hong Kong to form the company in 1982, as an independ ...
. The Dragonfly has been incorrectly billed as the world's first commercially available RC
ornithopter
An ornithopter (from Greek ''ornis, ornith-'' "bird" and ''pteron'' "wing") is an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. Designers sought to imitate the flapping-wing flight of birds, bats, and insects. Though machines may differ in form, th ...
(flapping wing aircraft). It was actually preceded by several other products, including Hobbytechnik's Skybird, Park Hawk, and Slow Hawk radio controlled ornithopters, and the Cybird radio-controlled ornithopter from Neuros.
The Dragonfly is made from lightweight but strong materials and has a crash-resistant structure. It is
rechargeable
A rechargeable battery, storage battery, or secondary cell (formally a type of energy accumulator), is a type of electrical battery which can be charged, discharged into a load, and recharged many times, as opposed to a disposable or prim ...
and has multiple modes for beginner and advanced users. The Dragonfly is not a robot like the majority of WowWee's current products, such as the
Robosapien and the
Roboreptile
The Roboreptile is a toy robot by WowWee. The Roboreptile has infrared and sound sensors, and is able to autonomously explore its environment while avoiding obstacles. It can also operate in different modes where it simulates behaviors of real ani ...
. Replacement wings are available for purchase.
History
The Dragonfly was invented by
Sean Frawley and
Dan Getz
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...
who began experimenting with ornithopters while they were still teenagers. The four-winged design of the Dragonfly was based on a previous rubber-band-powered ornithopter kit designed by Nathan Chronister and manufactured by The Ornithopter Zone. It also uses the same flapping wing design as the
DelFly
The DelFlyBradshaw, Nancy L., and David Lentink. "Aerodynamic and structural dynamic identification of a flapping wing micro air vehicle." AIAA conference, Hawaii. 2008.^ de Croon, G.C.H.E.; de Weerdt, E. ; De Wagter, C. ; Remes, B.D.W. ; Ruijsink, ...
. The newly available micro-sized motors and batteries developed for cellular telephones made it possible to build an electric-powered, radio-controlled version.
Mr. Frawley has since earned a degree in
aerospace engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
from
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and now works for WowWee. The Dragonfly was first introduced at the January
2007 CES show in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, and was being sold in
RadioShack
RadioShack, formerly RadioShack Corporation, is an American retailer founded in 1921.
At its peak in 1999, RadioShack operated over 8,000 worldwide stores named RadioShack or Tandy Electronics in the United States, Mexico, United Kingdom, Austra ...
stores in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in February 2007.
Hardware
The Dragonfly is made of lightweight materials that are strong and crash-resistant. Its gears and internal frame are made of
Delrin
Polyoxymethylene (POM), also known as acetal, polyacetal, and polyformaldehyde, is an engineering thermoplastic used in precision parts requiring high stiffness, low friction, and excellent dimensional stability. As with many other synthetic pol ...
. These parts, and its other internal electronics, are protected by a body molded from
Expanded Polypropylene.
Carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
rods give the Dragonfly's wings strength, while
Mylar
BoPET (biaxially-oriented polyethylene terephthalate) is a polyester film made from stretched polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and is used for its high tensile strength, chemical and dimensional stability, transparency, reflectivity, gas and aro ...
film give them lift and thrust.
[Block, Jeff (2004). ]
Interview With Sean Frawley, Creator of the FlyTech Dragonfly
RoboCommunity.com'', Apr 20, 2004 At 25 grams, its very light nature makes it easily susceptible to gentle wind currents.
The Dragonfly operates for approximately 5 to 10 (rarely 15) minutes on a single charge of its
lithium polymer battery
A lithium polymer battery, or more correctly lithium-ion polymer battery (abbreviated as LiPo, LIP, Li-poly, lithium-poly and others), is a rechargeable battery of lithium-ion technology using a polymer electrolyte instead of a liquid electrolyt ...
. The Dragonfly recharges by plugging into its remote control unit, which itself requires 6
AA batteries
AA, Aa, Double A, or Double-A may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''America's Army'', a 2002 computer game published by the U.S. Army
* '' Ancient Anguish'', a computer game in existence since 1992
* Aa!, a J-Pop musical group
* Dou ...
. Charging time is about 20 minutes.
Other versions
*''FlyTech Dragonfly'' comes in multiple colors, blue and green are the most commercially available, while red/orange ones are less common.
*One version of the ''Dragonfly'' is designed to resemble Barry B. Benson from the 2007
DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to:
* DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin
** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio
** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...
animated film ''
Bee Movie
''Bee Movie'' is a 2007 American computer-animated comedy film co-produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG and Columbus 81 Productions, and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film was directed by Simon J. Smith and Steve Hickner (in the f ...
''.
*A
Toys-R-Us exclusive variant called the Hornet had a more wasp-like body.
References
Further reading
Gizmodo article from January 6, 2007
External links
*
The Ornithopter Zone
– Sean Frawley's original company
FlyTech Dragonfly Home
o
RoboCommunity
– The official WowWee Robotics user community
UK info site about the Flytech Remote Control DragonflyVideo of Dragonfly flying filmed at half-speedFan-site, photo gallery, forums and review with pictures of Dragonfly
Flytech Dragonfly
Information page (plus YouTube video) it is a big fly
Flytech Dragonfly Inventor Sean Frawley
– a discussion of remarkable materials, painstaking development and that spark of inspiration.
{{WowWee Robots
Radio-controlled aircraft
2000s toys
Unmanned aerial vehicles of the United States
Entertainment robots
Robotic animals
Ornithopters
WowWee
Products introduced in 2007
Micro robots
Dragonflies