MAV State-of-the-Art and Technology Drivers

Abstract

These briefing charts present the state of the art of micro air vehicles (MAVs). These vehicles include those that are unmanned, unattended, and unassisted. MAVs are in increasing use both in the commercial and military sectors. MAVs can be completely remote-controlled, semi-autonomous and able to keep altitude and track while the operator commands up-down or left-right, or fully autonomous in that they can follow waypoints with no operator intervention necessary. The charts provide specifications for a number of MAVs that are currently operational. These specifications include manufacturer, wingspan, mass, payload, time endurance, whether operational or under development (prototype), and level of autonomy. The MAVs reviewed include the Aerosonde (Australia), the MLB Bat (United States), the Aladin (Germany), the Carolo XL (Germany), the Mikado (Germany), the Carolo (Germany), the Mite 2 (United States), the Dornier MAV (Germany), the RWTH Aachen MAV (Germany), the Black Widow (United States), and the Entomopter (United States). The development of MAVs is a multidisciplinary research activity involving flight dynamics, aerodynamics, aircraft design, microelectronics, propulsion systems, and guidance and control. Charts include an internal diagram of Carolo's components; Carolo during wind tunnel tests; aerodynamic characteristics, including lift versus drag, minimum glide angle, optimal speed, uncritical stall behavior, and flow separation; microelectronics components and actuator dynamics; flight dynamics; stability analysis; guidance and control systems, including flight and altitude controllers; and propulsion system. The presentation concludes with an overview of Carolo's ground control software and waypoint navigation system; Carolo's initial flight on 20 Dec 2002; and its first autonomous flight on 5 Sep 2003.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 23, 2004
Accession Number
ADA429910

Entities

People

  • Peter Voersmann

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Actuators
  • Aerodynamic Characteristics
  • Aircraft Design
  • Aircrafts
  • Altitude Controllers
  • Control Systems
  • Dynamics
  • Flight
  • Flow Separation
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Micro Air Vehicles
  • Navigation
  • Propulsion Systems
  • United States
  • Vehicles
  • Wind Tunnel Tests
  • Wind Tunnels

Readers

  • Aerial Unmanned Vehicle Swarm Micro Periodontal Dentistry.
  • European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP).
  • Robotics and Automation.

Technology Areas

  • Autonomy
  • Autonomy - Autonomous System Control
  • Microelectronics
  • Microelectronics - Microelectromechanical Systems