Northwestern's Phantom Twist drone spins its body 25 times a second to vanish mid-flight
churchkey · x · 2026-09-19
Northwestern engineers unveiled Phantom Twist, a drone that spins most of its frame at 25 turns per second (1,500 RPM, one rotation every 40ms) to become invisible in flight. A counter-rotating propeller cancels the spin, keeping the craft stable while its outline blurs beyond what eyes or tracking systems can lock onto. No paint, no clear shell—instead of matching the background, it simply refuses to hold still.
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