A new wing design for
small flying vehicles takes inspiration from bats to improve flight efficiency
By exploring how creatures in nature are able to fly by flapping their wings, Virginia Tech researchers hope to apply that knowledge toward designing
small flying vehicles known as «micro air vehicles» with flapping wings.
«Bats inspire «micro air vehicle» designs:
Small flying vehicles, complete with flapping wings, may now be designed.»
Not exact matches
The aircraft is designed to
fly to remote forward bases to resupply soldiers and evacuate casualties — at a cost per
vehicle of «less than a
small helicopter,» according to a Lockheed Martin official.
In the case of Blue Origin, the company's
smallest vehicle can be used to practice
flying and landing techniques that can then be applied to larger rockets that can launch satellites, Bezos said.
Engineers at the University of Florida are building
small autonomous
vehicles that
fly into and under hurricanes to provide real time data.
Small, silent, and energy - efficient, the researchers say bat takeoffs could inspire autonomous military micro-air
vehicles and
flying robots.
The existing criteria will continue on for 2013, but
vehicles that pass the
small overlap test with
flying colors will be recognized.
While we have yet to see fully automated,
flying vehicles, we are starting to see
small doses of automation with Lane Departure and Crash Detection systems becoming more and more prevalent in new
vehicles.
The use of
small autonomous
flying vehicles — model airplanes to hobbyists — is revolutionizing the field of conservation, enabling researchers to track wildlife, monitor for poachers, and survey inaccessible...
A single truck and trailer that jackknifes out of control can crush many other
smaller vehicles or send them
flying into other lanes of traffic and nearby obstacles.
Even as drones get more sophisticated, cheaper, and
smaller, there isn't an easy answer beyond the fact that unmanned aerial
vehicles are cool gadgets and fun to
fly — granted, where and when the Federal Aviation Administration deems it legal to do so.
Know Before You
Fly is an education campaign founded by the Association for Unmanned
Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA), and the
Small UAV Coalition in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to educate prospective users about the safe and responsible operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).