The world's lightest flying micro-robot has been developed by Japan's Seiko Epson Corporation.

The robot resembles a small helicopter and is about 136 millimeters wide, 85 millimeters tall and weighs about 12 grams with a battery.

Though still in the development stage, the robot is an advanced model of one released last year. It is remote-controlled and carries a tiny camera that can send images.

The developer says such micro-robots are expected to be used in various fields, such as surveillance and searching dangerous and narrow places.

Seiko Epson Corporation previously developed the world's smallest micro-robot in the 1990s, which was listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

(CRI August 20, 2004)