Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands says its researchers have developed a tiny drone that navigates using artificial whiskers instead of cameras or LiDAR. Inspired by rodents, the lightweight tactile sensors detect surfaces and obstacles through touch, allowing the drone to navigate in darkness, smoke, and other low-visibility environments.

Tiny autonomous drones could soon navigate through darkness, dust and smoke using artificial whiskers inspired by animals. Their small size limits the use of large or heavy sensors for navigation. That’s why researchers from TU Delft have developed a lightweight whisker-based tactile sensor that enables drones to navigate and explore their surroundings through gentle touch.

The system uses miniature pressure sensors to estimate contact location with millimeter-level precision. A lightweight onboard processing system filters out propeller-generated noise and runs using just 34 kilobytes of memory, enabling real-time autonomous navigation without external computers or positioning systems.

In tests, the drone followed rigid and soft surfaces, explored enclosed spaces, created tactile maps, and found exits—all using touch alone.