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
Category Archives: Research
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
UAS in Antarctica Used to Validate Weather Forecasts
It sounds like an awesome wintertime trip: Snowmobile to the middle of nowhere, set up camp and fly radio-controlled airplanes for a couple of weeks. Now take that same scenario and move it to Antarctica in the austral summer. Throw in a 10-hour snowmobile ride across the hard, wind-carved snow surface.
Boeing and Karem Get DARPA X-Plane Development Contracts
Boeing and Karem have been officially added to the list of companies awarded contracts under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) X-Plane programme, the agency announced on 18 March. Continue reading
Lockheed Martin and Warsaw Polytechnic Team on Manned/Unmanned Integration
Lockheed Martin and Politechnika Warszawska (Warsaw Polytechnic) will jointly conduct an advanced applied research program in the field of integration between manned and unmanned airborne platform systems. The program adds to Lockheed Martin’s already strong industrial and academic partnerships in Poland to motivate young Polish engineers to address tomorrow’s defense and industrial needs.