Enhancing Fault Isolation and Detection for Electric Powertrains of UAVs

NASA’s System-Wide Safety (SWS) project is developing innovative data solutions to assure safe, rapid, and repeatable access to a transformed National Airspace System.

Teaching Drones How to Navigate Real-World Weather

For drones to autonomously perform necessary but quotidian tasks, they must be able to adapt to wind conditions in real time.

Unmanned Hover Plane

The Trojan Unmanned Hover Plane (UHP) is a one-of-a-kind system that bridges the gap between the need to hover and the need to reach long ranges, giving it the ability to perform aerial missions with pinpoint precision.

Anti-Phase Noise Suppression Rotor Technologies

Acoustic optimization for anti-phase asymmetric rotor.

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...

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)...

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...

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.

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.

Algorithm Flies Drones Faster than Human Racing Pilots

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

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.

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.

Air Traffic Simulation Tool

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

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.

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.

Insect-Sized Agile Drones

These tiny aerial robots can operate in cramped spaces and withstand collisions.

Q&A: Team of Robots Maps Composition of an Environment

New autonomous robotic devices can survey hazardous or difficult-to-reach sites faster than humans.

Astronaut Experience Inspires Single-Handed Drone Flight Controller

The interface enables one person to accomplish tasks that previously required two sets of hands.

Hinge Design Helps Quadrotors Climb

The new hinge is the key to get loadbearing, large quadrotors to climb a few dozen feet in seconds.

Navigation Algorithm Enables Drones to Learn Acrobatic Maneuvers

Autonomous quadcopters can be trained using simulations to increase their speed, agility, and efficiency.

Keeping Drones Flying When a Motor Fails

Onboard cameras can be used to keep damaged quadcopters in the air and flying stably, even without GPS.