Story perspectives

Northwestern AI Drone Spins 25×/s, Ten-Times Less Visible

7/21/2026

Summary

Story summary

Northwestern University researchers built the Phantom Twist drone that spins up to 25 times per second.
They simulated 20,000 designs, used AI to choose 500 low-visibility options, and created a prototype about ten times less visible than a standard quadcopter.
At the July 16 Robotics: Science and Systems 2026 conference in Sydney, researchers highlighted the drone’s opposite-spinning frame design for wildlife monitoring and infrastructure inspection with reduced visual impact.

1 of 1

Story summary

Northwestern University researchers built the Phantom Twist drone that spins up to 25 times per second.
They simulated 20,000 designs, used AI to choose 500 low-visibility options, and created a prototype about ten times less visible than a standard quadcopter.
At the July 16 Robotics: Science and Systems 2026 conference in Sydney, researchers highlighted the drone’s opposite-spinning frame design for wildlife monitoring and infrastructure inspection with reduced visual impact.