Researchers create a drone that becomes almost invisible by spinning 25 times per second

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In brief: It's hard to miss a drone. With their spinning propellers and often bulky bodies, they're usually very easy to spot. But Northwestern University engineers have created one that's much more difficult to see coming: Phantom Twist, a prototype that rotates so quickly it becomes little more than a blurry haze.

Rather than using camouflage, transparent panels, or Predator-style light-bending materials, Phantom Twist exploits motion blur and the limits of human vision.

Its body spins between 15 and 25 times per second, causing the eye to average the moving parts with whatever lies behind them. At maximum speed, the aircraft is nearly invisible, appearing as a faint smudge.

Unlike a conventional quadcopter, which has four rotors surrounding a mostly stationary body, Phantom Twist uses a single motor and propeller.

The propeller rotates...

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