University of Michigan engineers have developed a new unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) after looking at real flying fish. Like the fish, this seaplane takes off and lands on water. The 7-foot wingspan electric UAV has been funded by the DOD's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and designed as 'an autonomous buoy for persistent surveillance in the open ocean.' The first sea trials have been successful. Now, the researchers want to improve the possibilities of their 'Flying Fish.' In particular, they want to use the energy from sun, wind, and waves during its surveillance missions. But read -- and watch -- more...
You can see above a picture showing the Flying Fish seaplane missions as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and an ocean buoy for surveillance and tracking. (Credit: University of Michigan) You'll find a larger version of this picture on the Aerospace Engineering home page at the University.
Now, here is the Flying Fish seaplane on water. (Credit: University of Michigan) Here is a link to a larger version of this picture. You'll find other pictures on this page.
Finally, here is the Flying Fish seaplane in the air. (Credit: University of Michigan) Here is a link to a larger version of this picture. You'll find 7 other pictures on this page.
This UAV is the result of the collaboration of several departments at the University of Michigan, including the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory and its director, Guy Meadows. It also involved Ella Atkins, Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering.
Now, here are some details about why the researchers took their inspiration by watching sea birds. "'We studied sea birds seriously,' Meadows said. 'They're all about the same size -- about 20 pounds with a 2-meter wingspan. It turns out that, aerodynamically speaking, that's a sweet spot to be flying close to the water. Our plane is about the size of a large pelican.'"
But how this UAV takes off and lands? "Flying Fish, an electric vehicle, drifts until its onboard Global Positioning System tells the craft it has floated too far. That triggers the takeoff sequence, which gets the plane airborne in just 10 meters. Other GPS coordinates trigger the landing sequence. The craft accomplishes both in simple ways, explained Atkins."
Surprisingly, Atkins adds that during takeoff, the UAV is blind. "The plane takes no measurements of its surroundings. The waves would confuse it. 'Most people wouldn't do it this way,' Atkins said. 'The plane puts the motors on at full throttle and sets the pitch elevator enough to break out of the water. Then it counts and pitches forward. We believe that if we had done it any other way, we would have basically dived into the ocean on takeoff because the plane would have detected huge oscillations due to the waves.'"
You'll find additional details by reading the official Flying Fish project page. Here is a short excerpt about current and future features of the Flying Fish. "The idea of this autonomous vehicle is that it quietly drifts to the edge of its watch circle, harnessing and harvesting energy from sun, wind, and waves as it drifts. Once it reaches the edge, it takes off like a seabird and flies to the other side of the circle where it autonomously lands and begins the drift cycle again. For a small vehicle like this, most waves look like those in the 'the perfect storm.' By flying over them we minimize energy used in transit, maintain a long-term energy balance (i.e. no refueling required), and give more time for sensor operations without noise from the vehicle. We envision fleets of these vehicles deployed for a variety of environmental monitoring applications."
Sources: University of Michigan news release, December 5, 2007; and various websites
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