The DelFly Micro, built by Delft University of Technology, is the world’s smallest ornithopther. The flapping robot has a 10 cm wingspan and even includes a video camera. In a mere year-and-a-half, the team decreased the weight from the 16 grams of the DelFly II, to the amazing 3 grams of the DelFly Micro.

The group hopes to use the ornithopther to study the aerodynamics of small flapping vehicles, as computer simulations prove very difficult. They also hope to use the onboard camera to achieve autonomous flight using machine vision. The current vehicle has a 30mAh lithium polymer battery that allows for 3 minutes of flight-time (the battery is 1/3 of the DelFly’s weight). The wings are made of mylar and flap at 30 Hz.

You can see some video of the ornithopther flying after the jump.

Update: The August 15th edition (MP3) of the Robots Podcast features an interview with the creators of the DelFly Micro.