SBIR-STTR Award

We propose to develop techniques and equipment for fully automated retrieval, refueling/ recharging, and relaunch of a miniature VTOL UAV. Our proposed method would be suitable for use on a small platform such as a pickup truck, or a small boat in a choppy sea. It would allow the ground-handling cycle to be performed remotely with no manual intervention, and so enable extended missions through remote unattended sites. Phase I work would evaluate concepts with prototype hardware, and do aerodynamic testing and flight-control analysis. Phase II would then implement and demonstrate the selected concept.

Benefit:
Miniature VTOL aircraft promise substantially to reduce acquisition and deployment costs for robotic-aircraft systems, while offering unprecedented capability. Consequently they may well make robotic aircraft competitive in multiple new applications for which current designs are uneconomic. Commercial possibilities include ship-based imaging reconnaissance, geomagnetic survey, weather reconnaissance, and atmospheric research.

Keywords:
UAV, UAV, aircraft retrieval, OAV, Aircraft Launch, MAV, robotic aircraft, Tiltrotor, Flexrotor

We propose to develop techniques and equipment for fully automated retrieval, refueling/ recharging, and relaunch of Aerovels Flexrotor. Our method would be suitable for use on a small platform such as a boat in a choppy sea. It would allow the ground-handling cycle to be performed remotely with no manual intervention, and so enable extended missions through remote unattended sites. Planned work includes demonstration of autonomous turnaround on land, and optionally at sea. These could be followed in Phase III by a demonstration of Flexrotors long range and autonomy, with a circuit between the west coast and Hawaii including a fully-automatic refueling stop.

Benefit:
Miniature VTOL aircraft promise substantially to reduce acquisition and deployment costs for robotic-aircraft systems, while offering unprecedented capability. Consequently they may well make robotic aircraft competitive in multiple new applications for which current designs are uneconomic. Commercial possibilities include ship-based imaging reconnaissance, geomagnetic survey, weather reconnaissance, and atmospheric research.

Keywords:
Aircraft Launch, Flexrotor, OAV, MAV, robotic aircraft, UAV, aircraft retrieval, Tiltrotor