( CNN ) Picking through the rubble of war-damaged buildings in combat zones , looking for enemies , survivors , booby traps or worse is one of the most dangerous jobs in the military . To take the dirt and danger out of mopping up operations , a Pentagon agency is developing a surveillance robo-hawk that could fly through the detritus of the urban combat jungle at 45mph . The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) -- already famous as the maker of some of the U.S. military 's more far-fetched war robots -- aims to develop autonomous drones small enough to fit through an open window . Speeding through unstable buildings or threatening indoor spaces at 20 meters per second , the unmanned aerial vehicle would obviate the need for physical entry that puts troops or civilian response teams at risk . Part of a military brief called the Fast Lightweight Autonomy program , the study is looking at developing new algorithms to allow a small UAV operating without a remote pilot and without use of GPS waypoints to navigate stairways , corridors and other obstacles . `` Birds of prey and flying insects exhibit the kinds of capabilities we want for small UAVs , '' said Mark Micire , DARPA 's Program Manager . `` Goshawks , for example , can fly very fast through a dense forest without smacking into a tree . `` Many insects , too , can dart and hover with incredible speed and precision . `` The goal of the FLA program is to explore non-traditional perception and autonomy methods that would give small UAVs the capacity to perform in a similar way , including an ability to easily navigate tight spaces at high speed and quickly recognize if it had already been in a room before . '' Ultimately , the agency says the algorithms developed in the program could enhance other types of unmanned missions , including underwater environments where GPS systems do n't work . `` Urban and disaster relief operations would be obvious key beneficiaries , but applications for this technology could extend to a wide variety of missions using small and large unmanned systems linked together with manned platforms as a system of systems , '' said Stephanie Tompkins , director of DARPA 's Defense Sciences Office . The aim of the program would be to take the grunt work out of repetitive tasks where fatigue can mean the difference between life and death . `` By enabling unmanned systems to learn 'muscle memory ' and perception for basic tasks like avoiding obstacles , it would relieve overload and stress on human operators so they can focus on supervising the systems and executing the larger mission . '' Miniaturizing drones that could negotiate indoor environments has also been a focus of the U.S. military . Its Army Research Laboratory , known as ARL , in Adelphi , Maryland , are currently working on a project to develop robotic surveillance insects with wings just 3-5 centimeters in length . The wings are made of lead zirconium titanate , known as PZT , a material that flaps and bends when a small voltage is applied . `` We demonstrated that we can actually create lift , '' said Dr Ron Polcawich who heads the team . `` So we know this structure has the potential to fly . '' Powered by tiny ultrasonic motors that measure just 2 to 3 millimeters , the team has also designed a millipede-like robot that simulates crawling when voltage is applied to the PZT material . While the team has shown that the project works in principle , Polcawich said that it may take a further 10-15 years of research before the Army has a fully functional robotic surveillance insect . He said that more research would be needed to establish algorithms that would allow a robotic insect to stabilize itself . More collaboration with other institutions -- Harvard University , for instance , has a `` robo-fly '' project three-times larger than the ARL 's robotic insect -- would be necessary to make a fully working prototype . Polcawich said the smaller the mechanical device , the more intricate are its aerodynamic problems . In a gust of wind a fly `` does n't instantaneously stabilize itself , '' Polcawich said . `` It will tumble , tumble , and then stabilize itself . '' Creating this type of artificial intelligence or `` cognitive ability '' would take time , he said , and a number of different systems must be integrated to develop a robot that functions like an insect . Read more from Make , Create , Innovate : . Digital nose on a chip can sniff out cancer . Meet the world 's first 1,000 mph car . Out of juice ? Try a cardboard battery .
A Defense agency is working on a surveillance robotic hawk that could fly through an urban combat jungle at 100 mph . The study is looking at developing new algorithms to allow a small UAV to operate without a remote pilot . The algorithms developed in the program could have other unmanned applications , including marine surveillance .