Related papers: Ultralight Solar Powered Hybrid Research Drone
A lot of UAV applications require vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) combined with very long-range or endurance. Transitioning UAVs have been proposed to combine the VTOL capabilities of helicopters with the efficient long-range flight…
An effective method for detailed observation of the Solar System planets is the use of vehicles that can perform flight in their atmospheres, with the most promising of them being Flyers (aircraft for other planets atmospheres). Besides the…
A technique by which a spacecraft can interact with flows of ionized gas in space (the solar wind or interstellar medium) to be accelerated to velocities greater than the wind velocity is explored. Inspired by the dynamic soaring maneuvers…
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) techniques have developed rapidly within the past few decades. Using UAVs provides benefits in numerous applications such as site surveying, communication systems, parcel delivery, target tracking, etc. The…
Whether for their maneuverability, autonomy or ergonomics, convertible UAVs, meaning those with the ability to take off or land vertically and fly like an airplane, present many interests. However, their dynamics are complicated by various…
Solar sails enable missions to observe the solar environment from unique vantage points, such as sustained observations away from the Sun-Earth line; sub-L1 station keeping; high inclination solar orbits; Earth polar-sitting and…
Advanced technological breakthroughs and exceptional levels of innovation are enhancing the capabilities and potential of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or drones), and in so doing attracting the interest of a broader swath of…
Drones provide a versatile platform for remote sensing and atmospheric studies. However, strict payload mass limits and intense vibrations have proven obstacles to adoption for astronomy. We present a concept for system-level testing of a…
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research requires the integration of cutting-edge technology into existing autopilot frameworks. This process can be arduous, requiring extensive resources, time, and detailed knowledge of the existing system.…
The flight of a quadcopter drone, readily available as a toy, is analyzed using simple physics concepts. A smartphone with built-in accelerometer and gyroscope was attached to the drone to register the accelerations and angular velocities…
This work introduces a novel approach for Titan exploration based on soft morphing aerial robots leveraging the use of flexible adaptive materials. The controlled deformation of the multirotor arms, actuated by a combination of a pneumatic…
The DARPA Subterranean Challenge is leading the development of robots capable of mapping underground mines and tunnels up to 8km in length and identify objects and people. Developing these autonomous abilities paves the way for future…
Drones, like most airborne aerial vehicles, face inherent disadvantages in achieving agile flight due to their limited thrust capabilities. These physical constraints cannot be fully addressed through advancements in control algorithms…
Recent technological advancements in small-scale unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have led to the development of companion UAVs. Similar to conventional companion robots, companion UAVs have the potential to assist us in our daily lives and…
A novel hybrid Monte Carlo transport scheme is demonstrated in a scene with solar illumination, scattering and absorbing 2D atmosphere, a textured reflecting mountain, and a small detector located in the sky (mounted on a satellite or a…
Measurements of a wide variety of aerial phenomena such as drones, birds, planes, and other aerial objects can in principle be obtained from open access radio detection and ranging equipment. Passive strategies involve existing cell towers…
Micro-Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are rapidly expanding into tasks from inventory to environmental sensing, yet their short endurance and unreliable navigation in GPS-denied spaces limit deployment. Lighter-Than-Air (LTA) drones offer…
Hybrid ground and aerial vehicles can possess distinct advantages over ground-only or flight-only designs in terms of energy savings and increased mobility. In this work we outline our unified framework for controls, planning, and autonomy…
Attempts to use Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flow for propulsion have been made since the last century [1]. Limited success has been registered particularly due to the inhomogeneous generation of the thrust, and also the very light weight and…
While Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly deployed in several missions, their inability of reliable and consistent autonomous landing poses a major setback for deploying such systems truly autonomously. In this paper we present…