Tue, Oct 14, 2003
Micro UAV Developed, Tested, Deployed -- in Six
Months
The Deseret Morning News, out of Provo (UT), let the
cat out of the bag this weekend: BYU students and professors,
mostly electrical engineering students, along with other
engineering disciplines, have developed a fold-up UAV that's
already been deployed by the US Air Force.
The project has taken just over six
months, from initial funding to delivery -- certainly a near-record
in modern military programs -- and the feedback is positive.
The little (2-foot wingspan) UAVs are GPS-guided, and presumably
also have "gyro" capability, to know where they're going, and to
get there right side up. They're programmed in the field (range is
short, but classified) to fly over either a GPS coordinate, or even
a map coordinate; and then fly to another destination, or back
"home." Operator experience can be near-zero, and the programming
takes just seconds.
The flying machine folds up for storage and transport, about the
size of a stubby umbrella. To launch the flight, the operator just
throws the tiny machine into the air.
Deseret reporter Leigh Dethman noted, "The plane was
first field-tested in August by Air Force special operations teams
during war-games trials in Mississippi. Air Force officials were so
happy with the mini-plane's performance that they ordered more and
deployed them in September."
Whence come these little wonders? From the MAGICC laqb, of
course. ("MAGICC" stands for Multiple AGent Intelligent
Coordination and Control.)
The next enhancement? The ability to run multiple UAVs from the
same laptop.
[The origami is for illustrative purposes only --ed.]
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