A group of researchers from Asia and Australia have developed and tested a flapping wing ornithopter that mimics one of the world’s fastest birds, the swift. The prototype drone, which weighs just 26g and is similar in size to a swift has been optimized to fly in cluttered environments near humans, with the ability to glide, hover at very low power and stop quickly from fast speeds, avoiding collisions – manoeuvres that quadcopter drones struggle to perform.