MegaTech R/C Real World Helicopter Series Instrukcja Użytkownika Pobierz pdf (Strona 75)

FINAL APPROACH

BY WILLIAM SIURU

The next-generation UAV

he Predator and Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles

(UAVs) are playing key roles in the war on terrorism.

Predators equipped with Hellfire missiles can seek out and

destroy enemy targets. Other Predators fly reconnaissance

missions over Iraq. UAVs are great for high-risk missions because

they don't endanger human pilots, but they fly slow and, thus,

are vulnerable to hostile antiaircraft fire. They also must be flown

by highly

skilled pilots

on the ground. Last, they are

expensive; Predators cost about

$2 million each.

Here, Me

X-Cell 60

RC hell-

copter Is In

flight with

the techno-

logically

advanced

control

system

on board.

Graduate student Loannls Martlnos and

Professor Eric Feron of the Department of

Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT hold

the robotic helicopter they helped develop.

With Navy funding, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology (MIT) are developing the technology to produce

more maneuverable, more intelligent and less expensive UAVs.

Researchers equipped an X-Cell 60 RC helicopter with a

7-pound instrumentation box containing inertial sensors, a

global positioning (GPS) receiver, an altimeter and a computer.

Flown manually by a trained UAV pilot, the robot helicopter

performed a 360-degree aileron roll at high speed. The maneu-

ver was recorded, and the information was used to create a

computer simulation from which the researchers developed the

autonomous control software for the helicopter's onboard com-

puter. The maneuver was then repeated robotically to achieve

the first-ever autonomous acrobatic maneuver with a heli-

copter. Researchers are currently working on a split-S—a basic

combat maneuver used by pilots to reverse direction quickly.

The control system works by memorizing the maneuvers

performed by an experienced human pilot and breaking down

the complex pilot inputs into basic mathematical algorithms.

In "building-block" fashion, the computer can then create new,

complex maneuvers just by recombining the various sets of

algorithms. This development makes it possible to program and

fly aggressive maneuvers that may have been previously

unheard of, giving UAVs a decided advantage in a hostile envi-

ronment. On a typical mission, a human pilot on the ground

would manually control the UAV through basic maneuvers

such as takeoff and landing, though autonomous takeoff and

landing have already been demonstrated. With a flip of a

switch on the control box, the helicopter would then fly

autonomously.

This new technology presents many possibilities. Small,

agile, robotic helicopters could perform military reconnaissance

This Is a block diagram of the

system used to simulate actual

flight maneuvers and develop

computer algorithms.

or carry weapons. They would be particularly attractive for use

in mountainous, urban and other challenging areas that are

currently too dangerous for larger, manned aircraft. They could

fly at low altitude and in tight spaces to locate terrorists in

caves and record live images that could be transmitted to the

ground or to manned aircraft in flight. Civilian versions could

survey disaster sites that are too dangerous for manned opera-

tions. According to the researchers, the technology could, in

the future, yield a 6-inch version able to fly robotically through

an air-conditioning duct, land inside a room and covertly listen

in on a conversation.

The robot helicopter is equipped with vibration-isolation

gear to protect the electronic equipment; this gear could also

keep a camera still, which would give filmmakers a more eco-

nomical way to shoot blur-free aerial footage.

The researchers estimate that a military robotic helicopter

with a range of at least several hundred miles would cost

around $500,000. A non-militarized version for filming aerial

imagery would cost significantly less. Though the military is

currently testing unmanned helicopter drones, these would

probably not be in service until after 2006. +

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