The US Air Force has awarded a contract to CyPhy Works, a Danvers, Massachusetts-based startup led by CEO (and iRobot co-founder) Helen Greiner. CyPhy will design and deliver a pocket-sized drone for use in search and rescue operations in collapsed buildings, tunnels, and other confined spaces and steep grades that may be difficult for crawling robots to negotiate. The drone, called the Extreme Access Pocket Flyer, will also provide a way to search for improvised explosive devices and conduct surveillance of tunnels and other spaces without the use of radio frequency controls.

The Pocket Flyer will carry a panoramic camera that provides both a 360-degree view from the drone. The tiny hexacopter, which measures about seven inches across when fully configured, is based on technology already demonstrated in CyPhy Works' Extreme Access System for Entry (EASE) and Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications (PARC) flying robot (a tethered, self-flying quadrocopter that provides both remote-controlled high-resolution video and a wireless communications relay capability).

Like CyPhy's other flyers, the Pocket Flyer is connected to a microfilament tether that provides power and Ethernet networking to the aircraft. This lets the drone control high-resolution video feeds from its onboard camera. In the case of the Pocket Flyer, the tether limits its range to 400 feet from the operator. But the tether also gives the aircraft virtually unlimited flight time—the portable base station for the Pocket Flyer has hot-swappable batteries that last for two hours each, or it can be plugged into another power source and flown indefinitely.

The initial targeted users of the Pocket Flyer are Air Force Pararescuemen, Special Forces units, and Federal Emergency Management Agency teams. But the company sees a much larger market long-term. “Just like a camera, the best drone is the one you have with you,” Greiner said in a prepared statement on the contract. “The market potential is one for every soldier, marine, police officer, SWAT team member, and many other jobs that expose people to danger.”