Led by Paul Pounds from the University of Queensland, a team of roboticists created two designs to help record atmospheric conditions in the event of a forest fire. The disposable, self-steering UAS are essentially sensor modules that can be dropped over a forested area to relay environmental data that could indicate potential for fire. Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
Deployable Air Land Exploration Robot Can Walk and Fly
The Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at Lausanne Polytech in Switzerland is developing a novel flying platform which has the ability to move on the ground by using its wings only. EPFL’s DALER – Deployable Air Land Exploration Robot – has the wings mounted on shafts that can either be locked or rotate. Continue reading
DARPA Wants Underwater Launch Vessel for Unmanned Systems
The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is hoping to develop a new unmanned submersible carrier vehicle called Hydra that would be able to launch small unmanned aircraft from underwater. The design would also be able to act as a carrier vehicle for releasing unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.
Mississippi State University Signs Agreement with US Army on Unmanned Aircraft Research
Mississippi State University is opening a new chapter in its research of unmanned aircraft systems. Continue reading
Unmanned Aerial Survey of Elephants – Research Article
The use of a UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) was tested to survey large mammals in the Nazinga Game Ranch in the south of Burkina Faso. The Gatewing ×100 equipped with a Ricoh GR III camera was used to test animal reaction as the UAS passed, and visibility on the images.
Researchers Use Kinect to AutoPilot Roaches
North Carolina State University researchers are using video game technology to remotely control cockroaches on autopilot, with a computer steering the cockroach through a controlled environment. Continue reading
The Glass Ceiling for Remotely Piloted Aircraft
“Those who by valorous ways become princes, like these men, acquire a principality with difficulty, but they keep it with ease.” —Niccolò Machiavelli, 1513. Continue reading
Hybrid Electric Planes Development Progresses
Last month Siemens and EADS demonstrated a new gas-electric vehicle capable of carrying two people and their luggage 900 kilometers—roughly the distance from New York to Detroit—between refuels and recharges. The prototype was not a car, but a small two-seater airplane. Continue reading