On the 22nd, a giant "butterfly" with a wingspan of 78 centimeters was gracefully fluttering in the athletic field of Wuchang Vocational College in Wuhan City, Hubei Province. This was neither a special effect nor a toy, but a butterfly-shaped flying robot hand-made by a team led by Ai Yuqing (21), a student from the college's Unmanned Aircraft Smart Device Technology Application School. The team produces 200 to 300 butterfly-shaped flying robots per month, priced at 1,500 yuan (approximately 35,000 yen) each. They have become popular products at weddings and events for introducing scientific knowledge, among other places.

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Last year, when Ai saw a video of a butterfly-shaped robot, he had a sudden realization: "This will sell!" He then invited his classmates and gathered 300,000 yuan (approximately 7.05 million yen) to establish a company.

However, "making a butterfly fly" is more difficult than many people think. Ai reflected on the arduous process of selecting materials, shaking his head and saying, "The core technology lies in the wing structure and balance. It must be perfectly symmetrical, and even a slight misalignment in materials will prevent it from flying properly."

Then, when he was most stuck, Ai reportedly watched every butterfly documentary he could find, and by watching in slow motion, he discovered that real butterflies create air vortices when they flap their wings. He suddenly realized, "I need to replicate the exquisite balance between weight and strength," and decided to use a coated polyester fabric. The fabric is as thin as paper, yet waterproof and resistant to abrasion.

From the carbon fiber frame to the 3D printing of the servo motor mounting positions, Ai meticulously crafted each part by hand in his dormitory. He said a pile of failed prototypes accumulated in a corner of the dorm. However, not a single unit sold even around last summer vacation, so he called his parents. They told him, "For now, try a bit harder, and if you truly run out of options, then we can think about it again," and he swallowed the words "I want to give up" that were about to escape his lips.

Gradually, these handmade butterflies began to gain popularity through drone forums, WeChat group chats, and the short video sharing app Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok), and in the second half of last year, a university enthusiast finally bought the first butterfly. After that, word-of-mouth spread, and they began to sell like hotcakes.

Orders came in from companies in the bridal industry, scientific knowledge popularization institutions targeting elementary, junior high, and high school students, and drone users, with a maximum of 10 units sold at once.

Ai, who will graduate in June, plans to dedicate himself to his company's operations. He stated, "Young people must think of various ideas and act on them. I won't regret it even if I fail in the future." (Provided by People's Daily Online Japanese Version / Edited by KN)