University of Colorado Boulder

Founded in 1876, the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Bolder) is a public research university in Boulder, CO. The College of Engineering and Applied Science at CU Boulder was founded in 1893. With an increased...

Extending Battery Life of Small Drones

A continuous flight of small drones over its perimeter could enhance security of the nation's border, but there is one small problem: The battery limitation of small drones (they last about 30 minutes) is...

New Printing Process Advances 3D Capabilities

Substances such as plastics, metals, and wax are used in 3D printers to make products and parts for larger items. Products created through the 3D printing of plastics include every-thing from toys...

High-Power Direct Borohydride Fuel Cells

Electrification of the transportation sector is critical to future energy and environmental resilience and will require high-power fuel cells (either standalone or in conjunction with batteries) to...

Propulsion System for Hypersonic Flight

The system could allow for flight speeds of Mach 6 to 17 and would have applications in air and space travel.

Advancing Hybrid-Electric Propulsion Systems for Sustainable Flight

Hybrid-electric propulsion systems hold clear potential to reduce aircraft carbon dioxide emissions and support the goal of greater sustainability in aviation.

Facility Focus: The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Learn about the aviation, space, cybersecurity, and engineering achievements happening at Embry-Riddle.

Giving Bug-Like Bots a Boost

A new fabrication technique helps improve the performance of flying micro-robots.

Bipedal Robot Achieves Better Body Balance

A new robot developed by Caltech researchers LEO carves out a new type of locomotion somewhere between walking and flying.

5 Ws of the Winged Flying Microchip

About the size of a grain of sand, the flying microchip (or microflier) does not have a motor or engine.

Non-Destructive Evaluation of Structures Using Transient and Lock-in Thermography

Applications include avionics, data storage, process control, reconfigurable manufacturing lines, and civil and structural engineering.

Meringue-Like Material Reduces Aircraft Noise

The low-density, graphene-based aerogel could make aircraft as quiet as a hairdryer.

Sensor Film for Aerospace

The film monitors how well aircraft and spacecraft withstand the mechanical stresses of flight.

Approach Makes Unmanned Agents Self-Sufficient

UAVs can land on moving unmanned ground vehicles without GPS.

Compact 3D LiDAR Imaging System

A silicon chip provides a low-cost solution to help machines see the world clearly.

System Trains Drones to Fly Around Obstacles at High Speeds

The new algorithm could enable fast, nimble drones for time-critical operations such as search and rescue.

Algorithm Flies Drones Faster than Human Racing Pilots

The algorithm calculates time-optimal trajectories that fully consider the drones’ limitations.

Designing Advanced IR Optical Assemblies for UAVs

Unmanned aircraft present a range of optics challenges.

2021 Create the Future Design Contest: Aerospace & Defense Category Winner — How to Keep Drones Flying When a Motor Fails, without GPS

A vision-based control algorithm saves a quadrotor after the complete loss of a single motor.

Photo-Induced Emission Analysis to Identify Surface Contaminants

The instrument identifies, quantifies, and characterizes contamination, even on irregularly shaped surfaces.

Air Traffic Simulation Tool

This evaluation tool for low-altitude air traffic operations can be used by the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry.

The Problem of Obsolete Avionics

Learn different strategies for addressing outdated avionics, like adding in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products.

Fuel Cell Boosts Electric-Powered Vehicles

This fuel cell could power a variety of transportation modes such as unmanned underwater vehicles, drones, and eventually electric aircraft.

Conformal, Lightweight, Aerogel-Based Antenna

The flexible antenna was designed for active aeronautical satellite communications.

Shape Memory Alloy (SMA)-Enabled Actuators

SMA tube elements drive rotary and ring gear motion in compact, powerful actuators.

Method Detects Onset of Destructive Oscillations in Aircraft Turbines

Early flutter detection will help in the development of safer and more eco-friendly aircraft turbines.

High-Altitude Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Monitoring Meteorological Parameters

The system uses infrasonic acoustics for weather monitoring and for drone or UAV activity.

Drones Use Machine Learning to Detect Landmines

Dangerous “butterfly” landmines can be detected using low-cost drones and infrared cameras.

Copolyimide Surface-Modifying Coating

The coating repels insects on aircraft wing surfaces and motor vehicles and reduces surface imperfections on other low-friction or non-stick surfaces.