(Photo: qianlong.com)

    TOKYO, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Japan's Seiko Epson Corp. said Wednesday it has developed a 12-gram flying micro-robot, the world's lightest.

    The robot, an advanced model of one released last year, can be remote-controlled by computer and has an on-board camera able to beam images wirelessly, Epson said.

    It is expected to be used in various fields such as surveillance and for searching dangerous and narrow places, the company said.

    The robot, which resembles a small helicopter, has two tiny ultrasonic motors that drive two propellers in opposite directionsfor lift.

    Epson said the model, which is about 136 millimeters wide, 85 mm tall and weighs 12.3 g with a battery, will be on display at a fair to be held Aug. 27-30 at the Tokyo International Forum.

    The robot is still in the development stage and can only fly for three minutes at a time, but the company hopes to elevate the technology to practical-use levels in two years.

    The model is a successor to one unveiled last November. The prototype's flying range was limited by the length of the power cord attaching it to an external battery, and although it was radio-controlled, it had to be kept within sight of the operator while flying.

    Epson-developed robots include one listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's smallest micro-robot, which was put on sale in 1993. Enditem