The Canadian Federal Government announced Tuesday that they are financially backing a new defence and aerospace innovation programme at UBC Okanagan. Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification, Michelle Rempel, was on hand to announce the $3.8 million in funding to support the establishment of the Survive and Thrive Applied Research Facility (STAR). Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
3D-Printed UAV with Ducted Fan Motors
A Boeing-assisted team at the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Center has developed a blended-wing UAV featuring integrated electric ducted fan motors built with modular components made largely via Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM). This is the type of 3D printing in which successive layers of molten plastic are extruded one on top of another, to build up complete objects. Continue reading
UAV/UGV Cooperative System
A system to allow air- and ground-based robot vehicles to work together, without GPS signals or expensive sensor devices, is being developed by a team at Yonsei University in Korea. This could be used by unmanned vehicle teams to explore environments, ranging from farms here on earth to the surfaces of other worlds.
Nixie, the Quadcopter that Fits on your Wrist
Earlier this year, Intel kicked off its Make it Wearable challenge, a mission to take wearable technology and do things with it that haven’t yet been done — that, maybe, no one had even thought of yet. Team Nixie has begun developing a quadcopter that fits on your wrist. Continue reading
Queensland University UAS in Biosecurity Research Programme
A new three-year project will see Queensland-based university QUT joining an international biosecurity research programme involving unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The project will see UA (unmanned aircraft) fitted with new high-tech imaging equipment to test how effective they are in identifying pests and diseases in horticultural and grains industries. Continue reading
Blue Bear Furthers UAV Automation Research
Blue Bear Systems and the University of Bristol have introduced a new concept that automates unmanned air vehicle (UAV) flight for use in challenging conditions. Dubbed Smart Boomerang, the system comprises two cameras and a mobile phone-derived computer that enables UAVs to learn a route and be able to automatically retrace its path. Continue reading
Indian Students Develop QuadCopter with Facial Recognition
A group of students at SRM University in Chennai, India, led by Sobin Santhosh, final year student in the Aerospace department have designed and implemented an autonomous copter equipped with an automatic face and person recognition system in a day. They have trained their intelligent software to detect a person irrespective of his/her attire, face orientation, posture and/or background. Continue reading
Homemade Inflatable UAS Reaches Speeds of 120mph
A Chinese engineer obsessed with the idea of reinventing the airship has unveiled an ‘indestructible’ inflatable plane that can be folded up and put in a suitcase when not needed. He says his plane could be used for a variety of missions and, what’s more, it won’t break if it falls out of the sky. Continue reading