- Researchers at Northwestern University developed Phantom Twist, a drone that rotates up to 25 times per second (1,500 RPM) to create motion blur, making it harder to see.
- The drone uses a single motor and propeller; the body spins in the opposite direction of the propeller for passive stability, and motor speed changes control horizontal movement.
- An automated design pipeline generated and optimized over 20,000 configurations, reducing visual perceptibility by about 10 times compared to a conventional quadcopter in model-based tests.
- The optimized prototype was fabricated and tested, but it currently relies on external optical tracking and has only flown indoors; sound from the propeller and visible structural parts remain obstacles.
- Phantom Twist is an academic prototype with no commercial plans, funded by the US National Science Foundation, and potential applications include wildlife monitoring and environmental surveys.