An ultralight autonomous aircraft that mimics the navigational abilities of a fly could one day become a real fly on the wall reports discovery channel.

The 10-gram microflyer, being developed by a team of researchers lead by Dario Floreano at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, has a 36-centimeter (14-inch) wingspan.

But it could one day be shrunk to insect size and used for search and rescue.

"A lot of groups are taking inspiration from insects but none of them have been able to reach that with an indoor flying system," said research scientist and project leader, Jean-Christophe Zufferey.

Autonomous indoor flight presents scientists with particular technological challenges that nature has already overcome.

"Indoor environments are really tough," said Erik Steltz, a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. "There are so many things to bang off of I believe this is the best approach out there to do indoor guidance for aircraft."