Robotics Trends

Unmanned Helicopter Would Investigate Nuclear Disasters Autonomous helicopter built by Virginia Tech’s Unmanned Systems Laboratory is designed to fly into cities after a nuclear attack in order to detect radiation levels, map and photograph damage. Students at Virginia Tech’s Unmanned Systems Laboratory are perfecting an autonomous helicopter they hope will never be used for its intended purpose. Roughly six feet long and weighing 200 pounds, the re-engineered aircraft is designed to fly into American cities blasted by a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb. The helicopter’s main mission would be to assist military investigators in the unthinkable: Enter an American city after a nuclear attack in order to detect radiation levels, map and photograph damage. “It’s for a worst-case scenario,” said project leader Kevin Kochersberger, a research associate professor of mechanical engineering and… View this post
Filed in: Academics and Research • Feature • Robotics Features
Tagged: Autonomous, Unmanned aerial vehicles, Imaging technology, U.s. defense threat reduction agency, Camera system, Flight control software, Mechanical engineering

UB Professor Studies the Flight of Hummingbirds To Develop Self-Propelled Surveillance Devices To better understand how a three-dimensional vortex forms, University at Buffalo researchers are conducting experiments using lasers and rectangular flapping “wings” in a water tank. The secret to the flight of the hummingbird and other tiny birds and insects lies in the looping, swirling flow of air, called a vortex, that their flapping wings create. These aerodynamically unconventional flows are the inspiration behind new research by a University at Buffalo scientist who hopes to understand the nature of the three-dimensional vortex formation process so that it can be optimized. The UB research is motivated by the need to gather real-time intelligence in particularly challenging environments; these include remote caves and tunnels or complex building corridors in cities, neither of which can easily be penetrated by conventional,… View this post
Filed in: Academics and Research • Feature • Robotics Features
Tagged: Unmanned aerial vehicles, Unmanned aerual systems, University at buffalo

AAI’s Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System Flies 100,000th Mission Ongoing system enhancements, including new lithium battery, electronic fuel injection engine and a new fuel delivery system, boost performance and reliability of unmanned aircraft system. AAI Corporation, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced that its Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS) have completed 100,000 missions. With 113 systems ordered and 87 delivered, Shadow systems are deployed with the U.S. Army, Army National Guard, Army Special Forces and Marine Corps. These systems have amassed more than 445,000 flight hours, the majority of which have been in support of combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Ongoing system upgrades have been critical to enhancing the system’s performance and reliability, enabling customers to evolve and expand mission profiles. While initially utilized as a… View this post
Filed in: Security & Defense Robotics • Opinion
Tagged: Textron systems, Unmanned aerial vehicles, Aai corporation, Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft systems, Tuas, Unmanned aircraft systems, Shadow