Engineering TV : DARPA

GoldenEye 80 VTOL UAV - Part 2

Terry Knight — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:11:00 GMT

The GoldenEye 80 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned ducted fan air vehicle features several acoustic dampening techniques that enable quiet hover and stare operations from altitude and an advanced flight control computer to rapidly transition from hover to forward flight dash speeds in seconds. It made its first public demonstration flight at Webster Field of the Patuxent River Air Station, Maryland on August 10, 2009. For more information, visit Aurora Flight Sciences.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(1225 Views, 0 Comments)

GoldenEye 80 VTOL UAV - Part 1

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 12:48:00 GMT
Aurora Flight Sciences' John Lambert and Tom Clancy talk to Engineering TV about the GoldenEye 80 Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Aircraft System. Originally developed under the DARPA's OAV-II Program, the GoldenEye 80 features an advanced EO/IR mission equipment package (MEP), a low acoustic signature heavy fuel propulsion system and a STANAG compliant portable Ground Control Station. For more information, visit Aurora Flight Sciences.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(1686 Views, 1 Comments)

A160T Hummingbird - Part 2

Terry Knight — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 12:00:00 GMT
The A160T Hummingbird unmanned aerial vehicle looks like a helicopter but is unlike any other helicopter on the market today. It features a unique optimum speed rotor technology that enables the Hummingbird to adjust the RPM (Revolutions Per Minute) of the rotor blades at different altitudes and cruise speeds. During flight, an operator can vary the RPM of the A160's rotors (speed them up or slow them down) at different altitudes to improve overall efficiency and save fuel. This is quite a departure from conventional rotor systems, which tend to have a fixed rotor RPM regardless of altitude. For more information, visit Boeing.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(1140 Views, 0 Comments)

A160T Hummingbird - Part 1

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:02:00 GMT
Developed under the auspices of the DARPA, the A160 Turbine Hummingbird (A160T) is a revolutionary vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system capable of endurance greater than 20 hours, with a range of 2,250 nautical miles, and a payload capacity of 2,500 pounds. In 2008, the A160T set a world record for endurance (verified by the FAI) with an 18.7-hour flight. For more information, visit Boeing.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(2788 Views, 1 Comments)

Pronto4 Capabilities and ProntoMimic Software

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:08:00 GMT
Vehicles retrofitted with the Pronto4 System can perform flexible roles in a tele-operational or semi-autonomous mode. The ProntoMimic Software Suite has a series of path creation / following interfaces that perform the task of path creation and maintenance using numerical data or aerial images and path execution in the form of GPS waypoint following. The software is highly flexible and adaptable, and can also be used for tele-operation. Also watch this episode: Pronto4 Agnostic Autonomy System. For more information, visit Kairos Autonomi.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(3048 Views, 0 Comments)

Pronto4 Technical Components

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:01:00 GMT
Troy Takach, President & CEO of Kairos Autonomi, takes us through the components of the Pronto4 Agnostic Autonomy System. This compact, modularly-constructed hardware system is capable of installation anywhere in the field in a four-four-four process — a four-person team can install four backpack-sized modules in four hours. Also watch this episode: Pronto4 Capabilities and ProntoMimic Software. For more information, visit Kairos Autonomi.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(628 Views, 0 Comments)

Pronto4 Agnostic Autonomy System

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:22:00 GMT
Rather than build expensive, purpose-built systems, Kairos Autonomi produces high-quality, cost-effective solutions that can be retrofitted or "strapped-on" to any existing vehicle or vessel that has a steering wheel. The Pronto4 Agnostic Autonomy System converts any existing ground vehicle or surface vessel — either steering-wheel or skid-steer — into an unmanned system in less than four hours. Featuring scalable autonomy, the Pronto4 system allows for vehicle control ranging from tele-operation to semi-autonomy. Also watch this episode: Pronto4 Technical Components. For more information, visit Kairos Autonomi.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(901 Views, 0 Comments)

AutonoNav-Mini

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:00:00 GMT
Andrew Culhane from TORC technologies demonstrates their AutonoNav-Mini, a pared down version of their AutonoNav autonomous navigation system for unmanned vehicles. Key features of the AutonoNav include optimized route planning, motion planning parameters entered via web-based interface, interfaces with common sensors such as LiDAR and GPS systems, and fully JAUS (Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems) interoperability with other JAUS compliant products. Also watch this episode: WaySight. For more information, go to: TORC Technologies.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(4020 Views, 1 Comments)

DARwIn IIIx Soccer Playing Robot

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:03:00 GMT
DARwIn is a fully autonomous humanoid robot capable of bipedal walking and performing human like motions. Developed at the Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa) at Virginia Tech, DARwIn is a research platform for studying robot locomotion and autonomous behaviors, and also the base platform for Virginia Tech’s entry to the RoboCup competition. DARwIn IIIx, the latest in the DARwIn series robots, uses technologies developed for Team VictorTango’s DARPA Urban Challenge entry “Odin,” a fully autonomous vehicle that can drive in the urban environment. At first glance, these two real-world robotic applications (DARPA Urban Challenge & RoboCup) are extremely different. The Urban Challenge is concerned with building a full-sized autonomous ground vehicle capable of driving in an urban environment. RoboCup, on the other hand, is focused on creating a team of fully-autonomous humanoid robots capable of playing soccer. In both of these landmark challenges, however, the core problem of a behavioral control structure is the same. Both robots must somehow balance dynamically changing desires while trying to achieve mission objectives in a real and unpredictable environment. Developed by team leader Jesse Hurdus, both robotic platforms use a novel formulation of a Hierarchical State Machine (HSM) for providing contextual intelligence within a behavioral agent.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(7612 Views, 1 Comments)

Ultra-Thin Imagers

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:51:00 GMT
In Part 2 of Engineering TV's interview with Eric Tremblay, researcher at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering, Eric discusses the Montage, a new camera design derived from a "slice" of the original full aperture symmetric lens, which features a much greater depth of field and a USB interface, all in a package about the size of a domino. "This type of miniature camera is very promising for applications where you want high resolution images and a short exposure time. This describes what cell phone cameras want to be when they grow up," says professor Joseph Ford in the Photonic Systems Integration Lab at the Jacobs School. "Today's cell phone cameras are pretty good for wide angle shots, but because space constraints require short focal length lenses, when you zoom them in, they're terrible. They're blurry, dark, and low contrast."

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(2220 Views, 0 Comments)

Origami Optics

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 14:17:00 GMT
Most camera lenses refract light, leading to the familiar cylindrical tube geometry. In some cases, where extended focal length or reduced track length are required, concentric mirrors can be used to effectively reduce barrel length. Recent advances in diamond machining and image processing make it possible to take this approach to a new extreme. With up to 8 reflections, large ray angles, and a lens shaped more like a lens cap than a tube, so-called Origami Optics allowed researchers at the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering to squeeze long focal lengths into a thin package and still collect enough light for fast, sharp exposures. Applications may range from compact imagers for micro-UAV surveillance craft to a miniature telephoto lens for future cell phones. "Our imager is about seven times more powerful than a conventional lens of the same depth," says Eric Tremblay, a UCSD electrical and computer engineering graduate student and the first author of a recent Applied Optics paper describing the new technology. Tremblay works with professor Joseph Ford in the Photonic Systems Integration Lab at the Jacobs School. The research is funded by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) as part of the "MONTAGE" imager program.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(7368 Views, 3 Comments)

TerraMax Autonomous Cargo Truck

CurtisEllzey — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:37:00 GMT
The TerraMax autonomous truck is based on Oshkosh’s Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) defense truck platform. Most recently, TerraMax competed in the 2007 Darpa Urban Challenge. The MTVR was designed for the US Marine Corps with a 70% off-road mission profile. TerraMax's unmanned ground vehicle kit does not interfere with the conventional operation of the vehicle. A robust sensor suite allows for 360-degree situational awareness around TerraMax. Elements of the autonomous navigation kit could be used to enhance driver awareness. The complete kit could be used in applications such as snow removal on airport runways. Dr. Tony Tether, DARPA director said, "The first autonomous vehicle to be fielded by the military most likely will resemble Oshkosh Truck's TerraMax entry because the military is already using the basic truck it's based on."

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(2000 Views, 0 Comments)

Commercializing Autonomous Vehicle Technology

CurtisEllzey — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:25:00 GMT
TORC Technologies is automating dull, dirty, and dangerous tasks by commercializing intelligent robotic technologies into interoperable off-the-shelf products, providing the essential building blocks for rapidly enabling autonomy on virtually any platform. TORC's product line offers an integrated set of functionalities necessary for implementing varying levels of autonomous operation. These include the ByWire, rapid drive-by-wire conversion; SafeStop, wireless emergency stop system; AutonoNav, autonomous navigation system; and WaySight, "sight-and-click" handheld operator control unit.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(1696 Views, 0 Comments)

DARPA Urban Challenge: Victor Tango

CurtisEllzey — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 14:58:00 GMT
Team Victor Tango is comprised of Virginia Tech undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and a Virginia Tech autonomous systems spin off company, Torc Technologies. The DARPA Urban Challenge competition pushes the limits of robotics, requiring teams to develop completely autonomous ground vehicles capable of navigating an urban environment. Vehicles must be able to perceive roads, road markings, and other traffic while planning an optimal route, avoiding collisions, making three point turns, parking, and adhering to the rules of the road. Building off previous development work, team Victor Tango's vehicle, "Odin", is a JAUS interoperable, drive by wire converted, 2005 Ford hybrid Escape that utilizes sensor technologies such as computer vision, laser rangefinders, differential GPS and inertial measurement.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(2323 Views, 1 Comments)

TARDEC Auxiliary Power Unit for Tank

CurtisEllzey — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 23:21:00 GMT
Using a high power density 330cc Wankel rotary engine modified to use diesel and military grade jet fuel, TARDEC developed an Auxiliary Power Unit designed to fit into an M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank (MBT). The engine is coupled to an air-cooled alternator producing 10kW of power for auxiliary loads such as electrical fans, scopes and communications components. At idle, the M1 Abrams consumes approximately 13-18 gallons per hour. TARDEC's APU can increase the range of the Abrams and save fuel costs significantly by reducing fuel consumption down to a gallon per hour.

Have a story suggestion? Want to be featured on Engineering TV?
Send us a tip at: EngineeringTV@Penton.com!

(2884 Views, 2 Comments)