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Micro Air Vehicle Requirements Challenges

Micro Air Vehicle Requirements Challenges. Gilbert Islas Feb. 25, 2012 SYSM 6309. What are MAVs ?. A micro air vehicle (MAV) is a class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Size restrictions and may be autonomous. Modern craft can be as small as 15 cm. Development is driven by:

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Micro Air Vehicle Requirements Challenges

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  1. Micro Air VehicleRequirements Challenges Gilbert Islas Feb. 25, 2012 SYSM 6309

  2. What are MAVs? • A micro air vehicle (MAV) is a class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). • Size restrictions and may be autonomous. • Modern craft can be as small as 15 cm. • Development is driven by: • Commercial applications (Hobby, Real Estate) • Research • Government and Military • Allows remote observation of hazardous environments inaccessible to ground vehicles. • Insect-sized aircraft expected in the future.

  3. History • Early 1990s: MIT Lincoln Labs builds concept model of tiny EO reconnaissance system. The CIA is interested in an insect-like platform for covert ops. • 1993: RAND Corporation studies sensor-carrying insects. • 1995: DARPA holds micro air vehicle technology workshop. Leads to $35M contract. • Loose requirement definitions. • What are the stakeholder objectives? • 1997: DARPA narrows vision for MAVs to be used by the individual soldier. • Reconnaissance, surveillance, battle damage assessment, targeting, nuclear, or biological substances.

  4. Preliminary Requirements • Micro Air Vehicles are “less than 15 cm”. • What does this mean? • Can it be a sphere, cylinder, or cube? • Can an MAV have moving parts (propellers and rotors) that extend beyond 15 cm? • Conduct real-time imaging. • Ranges up to 10 km. • Speeds of up to 30 mph. • Missions are 20 minutes long. • Technical requirements derived from conventional flight vehicles. • MAVs are not governed by the same aerodynamic principles.

  5. The Quest for a Useful MAV: WHY MAVs? • DARPAs vision was for outdoor use. • Environmental flight limitations(i.e. High Winds). • Is this system tactically practical? • A 15 cm MAV can support a maximum 15 cm antenna = 2 GHz frequency range. • Requires Line-of-Sight transmission. • Case Scenario • MAV is sent to a distance of 1 km to “look over the hill” • Hill is 30 m tall and at a distance of 60 m from MAV. • Requires altitude of more than 500 meters (1640 FT) to maintain line-of-sight! • Far out of sight and earshot of observers, even at 10x the size. So.... Why are MAVs needed when UAVs accomplish the same need??

  6. New Use Cases and Requirements • Size is important in indoor and confined spaces. • MAVs can navigate buildings, tunnels/caves, bunkers, etc. • Key Requirements: • Small size, slow flight, ability to navigate without GPS. • Must be able to fly, be controllable, and have useful endurance. • Critical implications for efficient aerodynamic structure and weight. • Surface area is limited. • Focus on propulsive power and energy density of fuel. • Controllable by operator or autonomous. • Self-stabilizing, “Inner Loop Control” • Direction control, “Outer loop control”

  7. Recommendations • Do not develop requirements until a useful use case scenario is identified. • Do not let the technology define the need. • Not all technology is scalable or makes sense. • Classical aerodynamics break down at small scales. • Reynold’s number takes effect (air is more viscous). • Use “Biological inspiration” engineering rather than “Biomimicry”.

  8. Video and Sources • NanoQuadrotor Swarm Behavior Literature Source Michelson, R. C. 2010. Overview of Micro Air Vehicle System Design and Integration Issues. Encyclopedia of Aerospace Engineering. Web Sources http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_air_vehicle http://angel-strike.com/entomopter/EntomopterProject.html http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=1111

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