At CES 2015, Qualcomm Research is introducing its latest innovation in robotics through the Snapdragon Cargo—a flying and rolling robot with an integrated flight controller—powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy Programme
DARPA aims to give small unmanned aerial vehicles advanced perception and autonomy to rapidly search buildings or other cluttered environments without teleoperation. Continue reading
NASA Seed Funds SR 72 Hypersonic UAV
NASA has funded a parametric design study to establish the viability of a Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) Propulsion system consisting of integrating several combinations of near-term turbine engine solutions and a very low Mach ignition Dual Mode RamJet (DMRJ) in the SR-72 vehicle concept. Continue reading
Smaller Lidars Allow UAVs to Conduct Underwater Scans
A team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) has designed a new approach that could lead to bathymetric lidars that are much smaller and more efficient than the current full-size systems. The new technology, developed under the Active Electro-Optical Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AEO-ISR) project, would let modest-sized unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) carry bathymetric lidars, lowering costs substantially.
South Africa and Algeria Conclude Aeronautics Research Agreement
The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa and the University of Blida in Algeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Joint Centre of Excellence (JCoE) in aeronautics research. Continue reading
Corpus Christi UAS to Fly on Multiple Axes
Researchers at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi believe they are months away from launching a new type of unmanned aircraft capable of flying on multiple axes. Continue reading
Bird Brains May Help Drones Avoid Crashing
Researchers at Queensland University sent budgies down a tunnel, where they were met by an obstruction in the middle, with a choice to fly either to the left or to the right of it. What they found surprised them.
DARPA RFI to Create Airborne Aircraft Carriers
DARPA is interested in exploring the feasibility of small UAS airborne launch and recovery approaches for providing distributed airborne capabilities from existing air platforms. The agency envisions a large aircraft that, with minimal modification, could launch and recover multiple small unmanned systems from a standoff distance. Continue reading