Stanford mechanical engineering professor David Lentink and his students capture slow-motion video from the fastest wings in the bird world, with an eye toward building flying robots that take design cues from Mother Nature.” Continue reading
Category Archives: Research
Cornell Students Win AUVSI Competition
CUAir, a group of high-flying Cornell engineering students, soared into first place at the Student Unmanned Air Systems Competition held at the Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland, June 19-22. Continue reading
Washington State University Develops Hydrogen-Powered UAS
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Club at Washington State University has spent countless hours building and flying unmanned aircraft systems, and they’re currently developing one that’s powered by liquid hydrogen. Continue reading
No More Waypoints: AEVO GmbH Demonstrates Fully-Autonomous Guidance for UAS
The Guidance part in “GN&C” typically relies on sequences of pre-defined waypoints. But now the German company AEVO GmbH has demonstrated a new guidance and control software that autonomously guides UAS to perform complex tasks (e.g. target surveillance, obstacle avoidance). Continue reading
New All-Solid Sulphur-Based Battery Outperforms Lithium-ion Technology
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have designed and tested an all-solid lithium-sulphur battery with approximately four times the energy density of conventional lithium-ion technologies that power today’s electronics. Continue reading
Aurora Electric Ducted Lift Fan Completes High Powered Thrust Tests for DARPA
Aurora Flight Sciences along with partners ThinGap and Trust Automation are answering the need for safe, high power density electric lift fans, with specific interest in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air vehicle applications. Continue reading
Brain-Computer Interface Technology to Control UAS
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In a gymnasium in Minnesota, a small quadrocoptor flies effortlessly through hoops. But look for its pilot, and it’s not obvious who it is, because it’s being flown by someone’s brain. Continue reading
Robo Raven Reproduces Bird Aerobatics
This video demonstrates a new robotic bird, “Robo Raven,” whose wings flap completely independently of each other, and also can be programmed to perform any desired motion, enabling the bird to perform aerobatic manoeuvres. Continue reading