University Of Maryland Demonstrates Mini Monocopter
Writing by Evan Ackerman on Thursday, 22 of October , 2009 at 12:49 am
Last month, we posted about Lockheed Martin’s SAMARAI UAV, a monocopter designed to test control principles for a much smaller unmanned reconnaissance drone. The University of Maryland has just demonstrated the results of several years worth of research on monocopters, and they’ve got a fully controllable vehicle that uses a single wing no larger than a seed pod, and packs a camera to boot:
As you can see, the UMD monocopter can take off from the ground, hover, fly controllably, and land without killing itself. The key was a lot of research into the flight characteristics of the seed pods themselves, which enables the monocopter to autorotate just like the real thing. Obviously, the camera isn’t really useful for surveillance at this stage, but that’s solvable. Researchers suggest that the craft could be airdropped, autorotate for a while, and then be controlled remotely for “defense, fire monitoring and search-and-rescue purposes.”
The implication of the Lockheed Martin project (based on this image, anyway) is that their final product will be both the size and form factor of a samara, while the UMD monocopter relies on an external motor and battery pack for propulsion, stability, and control. While it would be totally awesome (and very stealthy) to have a little surveillance robot that looks like a seed pod, for most purposes, having a functionally similar design is just as good, and (most importantly) UMD has an aircraft that works… And it only costs $500, which odds are is going to be a damn sight cheaper than anything that Lockheed Martin produces.
[ UMD Press Release ] and [ Project Website ] VIA [ Boing Boing ]
Comments (8)
Category: Biorobotics,Research
- Add this post to
- Del.icio.us -
- Digg
Comment by bla
Made Sunday, 25 of October , 2009 at 6:30 am
Really cool. And this is what you get if all tech nerds involved can submit their favorite piece of music to the vid. So, I had to put the sound down to be able to finish it. Nevertheless, very cool.
Comment by sandviç panel
Made Saturday, 2 of July , 2011 at 6:57 am
I love it when people come together and share opinions, great blog,keep it up
Comment by bims
Made Saturday, 2 of July , 2011 at 3:19 pm
.) There is noticeably a bundle to know about this. I assume you made certain nice points in features also.
Comment by fuar hostesi
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 2:56 am
.) Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.
Comment by granit küp taş
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 3:59 am
.) I was very pleased to find this web-site.I wanted to thanks for your time for this wonderful read!! I definitely enjoying every little bit of it and I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you blog post.
Comment by pomza
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 4:43 am
.) Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
Comment by hafriyat
Made Monday, 4 of July , 2011 at 6:00 am
.) This really answered my problem, thank you!
Comment by Mining Camps
Made Thursday, 10 of November , 2011 at 5:06 pm
What a great Website. We’ve just launched a new website also. Visit us for all your business storage needs!
