Northrop Grumman Corp. said that it is collaborating with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University to study airworthiness requirements for operating unmanned aircraft systems in Australia. Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
UAS Shipboard Landing Using Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) Technique
Limited landing area as well as interference due to wind disturbance and wave motion make shipboard landings of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) extremely difficult. Use of UAVs at sea can enhance the efficiency of intelligence gathering and surveillance, and could also increase long-range air-strike capability. To successfully land aircraft in such a challenging environment requires a high-precision navigation system; this prototype applies RTK measurements.
University of Tasmania UAS Maps Vegetation
The University of Tasmania’s Terra Luma project is using unmanned aircraft systems for environmental and agricultural remote sensing and aerial survey work.
University of Sydney Student’s Prize-Winning UAS Autopilot
A University of Sydney robotics researcher has won the 2014 International Simulink Challenge for pioneering a new autopilot for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Daniel Wilson, a PhD candidate at the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR), developed the ‘SkyMaster’ autopilot system using MathWorks’ Simulink Software. Continue reading
DARPA Eyes Greater Cockpit Automation
DARPA is launching a programme called Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System to mature technologies that enable higher levels of cockpit automation to help reduce pilot workload, augment mission performance, and improve safety.
Fly’s Rapid Wing Flutters Could Inspire Micro-UAS Flight
Flies have tiny muscles that allow them to make adjustments in mid-flight, and until recently, scientists were unable to get a good look at just how the muscles work. A 3-D, real-time video of insect flight could be used to design tiny, flying robots, or to create mini sensors for many applications, said study co-author Graham K. Taylor, a biomechanist at the University of Oxford in England.
U.S. Department of Agriculture UAS Monitors Plant Growth Cycles in New Mexico
A small group of researchers and technicians recently gathered on a dirt airstrip at the U.S. Department of Agriculture Jornada Experimental Range to launch a Bat 4 unmanned aircraft on a mission, flying through both military restricted airspace and the National Airspace System. Continue reading
University of North Georgia Test Brain-Controlled QuadCopter
Students at the University of North Georgia are developing an idea is for a human brain to send signals through the electroencephalogram-sensor headset to a small, unmanned helicopter. The wearer would then control a UAS via his thoughts, without using manual controls. Continue reading