TCUAV Unmanned Aerial Surveillance System On Rails
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Wednesday, 28 of November , 2007 at 4:54 am
TUCAV stands for Train Cable Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, which may sound a bit confusing, but the above video explains the concept well. Designed by an Israeli company called Planum Vision, the TUCAV system offers quite a few advantages, primarily when it comes to reliability and cost effectiveness. Since the system runs on rails (cables, rather), complicated autonomous navigation is unnecessary, although the vehicles (including both a little airplane and a dirigible of some kind) do have the capability to detach from the cable and fly around on their own (doesn’t seem like they can reattach, however). Power and communications to the vehicle are supplied through the cable, a much more reliable method than wireless transmission, and from the look of the video, the aerial vehicles may be able to generate lift as they get pulled along by the cable car below, saving energy. The overall design is meant to be a compromise between ground surveillance and aerial surveillance, and as such, some sacrifices are made, the most obvious one being that everybody knows pretty much where the vehicle is most of the time (since it’s usually attached to the ground cable system).
It looks to be a very reliable and inexpensive way to provide 24/7/365.25 surveillance of any fixed zone, such as a border or a perimeter. Of course, it’s a lot more convenient NOT to have to built the railway to get surveillance… But in areas where observation zones aren’t going to change, we could see a system like this in action. I mean, cool little airplanes, zeppelins, and trains? I’m sold already.
[ Planum Vision ] VIA [ TFOT ]
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Category: Military
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