For the AIRFOILS project, the Boston University IML team, led by Dr. Kenneth Sebesta and headed by Dr. John Baillieul, created the Batcopter. The Brazilian Free-tailed bats above (also called Tadarida) come together in the millions in caves all over Texas, leaving every night in swarms so big they can be detected by doppler radar. Somehow, they manage to fly...
A multi-sensor, remote-controlled mini-helicopter capable of multi-detection functions has been launched by TiaLinx Inc. of California. The Phoenix50-H mini-unmanned aerial vehicle can be programmed to fly and land at multiple waypoints and has been integrated with TiaLinx’s fine beam ultra-wideband, multi-gigahertz radio frequency sensor array. An onboard microphone and video camera augment the sensor capability of the Phoenix50-H, the...
More video from the GRASP lab. This time of coordinated follow my leader flight. Its time to set them free chaps. Working well indoors now lets see them out in the wild. From IEEE Spectrum Being able to do this is all about communication, as Professor Nathan Michael discussed today at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in...
Taipei, April 22 (CNA) A local company has unveiled Taiwan’s first indigenous unmanned vehicle for aerial photography, hoping to break into a market that so far has been monopolized by imported products. The AI Rider, a system based on a six-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle weighing about 1,450 grams, is highly competitive because of its price and after-sales service, including...
The Flying Machine Arena consists of a 10x10x10m³ indoor space, with an additional control room attached to it. Nets on three sides and a transparent reinforced glass wall create an enclosed volume where autonomous vehicles can operate without endangering the surrounding space. The floor of the space is covered in impact-absorbing foam, reducing the damage incurred during crashes Bookmark...
MIT drone makes a map of a room in real time using an X Box Kinect and is able to navigate through it. All calculations performed on board the multicopter. Students have developed a real-time visual odometry system that can use a Kinect to provide fast and accurate estimates of a vehicle’s 3D trajectory. This system is based on...
A wildfire’s thick black smoke blots out the sun, cloaking the area in a premature dusk. Glowing embers spiral up through the haze. A small camera-equipped aircraft skirts a wall of flames on a dangerous mission to record hot spots and track the fire’s progression. That is, it would be dangerous if an actual pilot was on board. But...
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 21, 2011 — TiaLinx, Inc., a developer of remotely controlled mini-unmanned aerial and ground vehicles integrated with mm-wave miniaturized radars, today announced the launch of the Phoenix40-A. The mini-UAV system is capable of performing dual functions as a motion detector as well as probing for breathing of a hiding person in a compound. The mini-UAV...
UK Newspaper The Guardian reports that the MOD is making 20 million pounds available for Nano UAS. This is the second story this week in which military organizations seem to be looking for small multicopters. A market to date that has been ignored by the big defence contractors and a space owned by small start ups. No doubt some...
Japans ministry of defence has unveiled a new flying trash can, the Honeywell T-Hawk and AESIR Coanda craft prove the popularity of these types with the military and defence developers. We can’t see what advantage they have over large multicopters. The high energy requirements for this type of flight might just be the perfect fit for the smaller fuel...
