MIT researchers, in collaboration with Boeing’s Phantom Works, have developed a UAV airborne fleet that requires little human supervision, covers a wide area, and automatically maintains the “health” of its vehicles, reports Science Daily.
Aeronautics and Astronautics Professor Jonathan How, who heads the research team, believes it is the first platform to publicly demonstrate sustained, coordinated, autonomous flight with multiple UAVs.
In the MIT Aerospace Controls Laboratory, the research team regularly conducts flights using three to five UAVs, which have achieved complex tasks such as persistent surveillance of a defined area.
The test platform consists of five miniature “quadrotor” aircraft - helicopters with four whirling blades instead of one - each a little smaller than a seagull. It also includes an indoor positioning system, as well as several miniature autonomous ground vehicles that the UAVs can track from the air.
Each UAV is networked with a PC. The setup allows a single operator to command the entire system, flying multiple UAVs simultaneously. Moreover, it requires no piloting skills; software flies the vehicles from takeoff to landing.
The vehicles in MIT’s test platform are inexpensive, off-the-shelf gadgets; they can be easily repaired or replaced with a new vehicle, just as might happen in a real-world scenario involving numerous small UAVs on a long-term mission. The researchers can thus experiment constantly without concern for mishaps with expensive equipment.
The team has also designed an automatic docking station that allows the UAVs to recharge their batteries when they are running low. When the aircraft finish “refueling,” they can then return to assist in ongoing flight operations.
DragonFly’s RC helicopters are only $750. Run the video through 2D3’s Steadymove software plugin ($500) to eliminate the shake. Battery operated, Four Rotor Helicopters start under $1000 while bigger models like the Draganflyer X-Pro cost around $5,000. The Eyecam with Articulated Camera Mount ($449) has a range of 1500 feet using a 50mW, FM video transmitter at 2.4GHz. The camera and transmitter are powered by 4xAA batteries.
Related DailyWireless stories include SkyNet for UAVs and HDTV from Aircraft.
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[...] Swarming UAVs using DragonFly’s RC helicopters start at $750. Run their video through 2D3’s Steadymove software plug-in ($500) to eliminate the shake. [...]
Left by dailywireless.org » HDTV from Aircraft on November 25th, 2006