Unmanned Systems

Articles: Aerospace

Advanced Assembly Solutions for the Airbus RACER Joined-Wing Configuration

The Rapid And Cost Effective Rotorcraft (RACER) demonstrator is being developed by Airbus Helicopters (AH) to further validate the compound rotorcraft configuration.

Application Briefs: Aerospace

Tiltrotor Aircraft: The CMV-22B Osprey

The CMV-22B is the latest variant of the tiltrotor fleet, joining the MV-22 and CV-22 used by the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force.

Articles: Aerospace

High-Energy Laser Weapon Systems

The next few years will help determine whether high-energy lasers become a staple of the battlefield.

Articles: Imaging

Drone Swarms: A Transformational Technology

The U.S. military is prioritizing development of drone swarms as a means to reduce risk to our warfighters.

Articles: Mechanical & Fluid Systems

Connectors Lighten the SWaP Burden in UAV/MUMT Aircraft Electronics

Combat is being transformed by Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUMT) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technologies that improve a warrior’s situational awareness.

Application Briefs: RF & Microwave Electronics

Anti-Drone Remote Weapon System

Weighing only 70 kilograms, the Pitbull-3 delivers Point & Shoot technology

Briefs: Aerospace

Validation of Architecture Models for Coordination of Unmanned Air and Ground Vehicles via Experimentation

Using the relationship of system architecture products and model-based systems engineering analysis, a UAV-UGV team can collaboratively conduct the structured, rudimentary tasks necessary to find a person in distress.

Articles: Government

Playing Defense⁠ — Uncertain Regulations Stall the Implementation of Counter-UAS Technology in The U.S.

A raft of companies have emerged to provide counter-UAS technologies, but challenges remain.

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Assessing the Effectiveness of a Combat UGV Swarm in Urban Operations

Recent technological advancements could enable the military to employ robotic platforms in swarms to help overcome operational challenges in an urban environment.

Articles: Defense

Robotic Combat Vehicles: Putting the Brains Behind the Brawn

A new era of Robotic Combat Vehicles (RCV) is about to begin

Briefs: Transportation

Systems Engineering Approach to Develop Guidance, Navigation and Control Algorithms for Unmanned Ground Vehicle

This research explores the development of a UGV capable of operating autonomously in a densely cluttered environment such as the tropical jungles or plantation estates commonly found in Asia.

Briefs: Aerospace

Agile Robust Autonomy: Inspired by Connecting Natural Flight and Biological Sensors

Understanding the mechanics of insect flight could help improve the agility, autonomy, robustness and integrated sensing and processing of unmanned aerial vehicles.

INSIDER: Unmanned Systems

Sky Devils Provide Critical Link to Soldiers

New Jersey Army National Guard soldiers train daily to operate the RQ-7B Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance, targeting and communications relay.

Application Briefs: Aerospace

Automatic Drone Detection System

Tektronix partnered with Erisys RF Solutions to release an automated drone detection solution.

Articles: Power

Microturbine Propulsion for UAVs

The continued use of reciprocating engines has limited the UAV market’s ability to reach its true growth potential.

Briefs: Aerospace

Localization and Mapping of Unknown Locations with Unmanned Ground Vehicles

The main goals of this research are to enhance a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software platform to support unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) exploring the complex...

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Underwater Drone Technology

Finding ways to overcome physical limitations so that humans can dive deeper and stay underwater longer has been an ongoing quest. Back in the 15th century, Leonardo Da Vinci drew sketches of a submarine and a...

Articles: Software

Designing a High-Speed Decoy Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)

Drone aircraft and their uses have been evolving quickly, supported by a great deal of ongoing research. One area of increasing interest is the decoy drone, designed to mimic the...

Articles: Aerospace

New Technologies Tackle UAV Challenges

Unmanned vehicles for air, land, and water represent an increasingly-important capability for virtually all military services worldwide. Because each new generation of device technology promises...

Articles: Aerospace

Educating UGVs

Advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are accelerating as the technology matures from being research-orientated to being deployed in a wide range of products and services, such as autonomous vehicles. While...

Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition

Protecting Critical Data on Unmanned Underwater Platforms

Emerging mission requirements from global defense forces are driving new programs and applications for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) platforms. Like their airborne counterparts,...

Briefs: Robotics, Automation & Control

Development of a Vision-Based Situational Awareness Capability for Unmanned Surface Vessels

Using unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for “dull, dirty and dangerous missions” is gaining traction in recent years as it removes the human...

Articles: Unmanned Systems

Developing a Multi-Modal UGV Robot Control Interface

Unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) are currently being used or developed for operational maneuvers (e.g., reconnaissance and IED defeat), maneuver support (e.g., route clearance), and...

Articles: Unmanned Systems

Deploying COTS Subsystems in UUVs

In December, 2016 the newest class of unmanned vehicles, Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV) made international headlines after China, in an unprecedented act, seized an unclassified “ocean...

INSIDER: Defense

High-Speed, Autonomous Surface Patrol Capability Demonstrated

After a year of internal research and development, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, recently conducted a large, at-sea...

Articles: Aerospace

Using SWaP-C Reductions to Improve UAS/UGV Mission Capabilities

The defense and aerospace market continues to push for reductions in size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) to support advanced sensor/vetronics payloads onboard unmanned...

Articles: Unmanned Systems

Designing Rugged Computing Platforms for UGVs

While the military’s proliferation of unmanned aircraft, or drones, continues to grab the headlines, the deployment of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV) is also anticipated to expand based on...

Briefs: Defense

Undersea Communications Between Submarines and Unmanned Undersea Vehicles in a Command and Control Denied Environment

Nuclear powered submarines can stay submerged for days at a time and only have to come to periscope depth (PD) for...

Articles: Unmanned Systems

Applying UUV Advances to Safeguard Harbors and Littoral Waters

Advances in unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are providing government agencies and commercial organizations with new capabilities across a variety of mission requirements....