The flying mini robot drones

It conjures up a rather frightening vision of a future where intelligent robots work in packs without the need for human intervention.

But scientists are developing robots which can 'dock' with each other  and fly together in a swarm.

Using infrared beams the drones are able to find each others' location and connect with one another using magnets, completely autonomously.

The individual vehicles - or quadrocopters - have fixed propellers that can lift them into the air, but the resulting flight is erratic and uncontrolled.

But once they are joined together these relatively simple little robots evolve into a sophisticated multi-propeller system capable of coordinated flight.

Each helicopter unit has its own motor, computer, and sensors.

As well as a mini-propellor duct system for flying they also have little wheels underneath to let them crawl around the ground and find each other.

To read this Daily Mail article in full, click here .

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