The world got a first glimpse of the “world’s first spherical flying machine” back in June this year, but its maker, Japan’s Ministry of Defense, decided it’s time to showcase it publicly a few days ago in Tokyo. And as you can see in the video embedded below, their ball drone is pretty awesome.
The drone can stand still in mid-air, fly vertically and horizontally through narrow spaces at up to 60km/h, and (which is very cool) keep on moving when it hits the ground or a wall. Thanks to three gyro sensors in its body, the machine can keep also flying even if it’s hit by an obstacle.
What’s also impressive is that the drone is made of spare parts that cost just US$1,400 in total.
Here’s the video (in English, shot by DigInfo TV in Tokyo):