Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.
Issue link: https://insideunmanned.epubxp.com/i/668560
44 unmanned systems inside April/May 2016 AIR INNOVATION I f you've ever tried to kill a f ly, you know how resilient they can be. Colliding with the window doesn't seem to phase these insects, and they've all but mastered the art of avoiding obstacles during f light—a skill that Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) also must master before they can be safely f lown in the National Airspace. About five years ago, Patrick Thévoz, co- founder and CEO of Flyability, began study- ing f lies for this very reason. He wanted to create an unmanned aircraft that could run into obstacles and keep f lying, making it safer and more useful for applications rang- ing from search and rescue missions to boiler inspections. One result of that research is the Gimball—a collision-tolerant drone that features a patented rotating protective cage. Rather than avoiding obstacles, it uses them during a f light to reach places that are too dangerous for humans and that other drones simply can't get to. "We put hundreds of f lies in a plastic cage with highspeed cameras to look at how they were f lying," said Thévoz, who started Fly- ability about two years ago. "One of the most important take-home messages was the abil- ity of insects to f ly in complex spaces. Basi- cally their eyes were like little optical f low machines. But at the same time, it's their mechanical resilience that allows them to recover almost instantly from a collision. We wanted to mimic that capability in f ly- ing robots." And they have. The Gimball has inspect- ed tanks for Chevron—a task that usually requires someone to crawl inside the tank with a f lashlight and small camera—has in- spected boilers in power plants for leaks and was used to explore narrow ice crevices in the Swiss Alps. While the Gimball isn't as small as a f ly, it wouldn't be able to carry the necessary sensors and cameras if it was, its ability to mimic the by Renee Knight Manufacturers and researchers are looking to insects to improve how unmanned systems operate. Here's a look at some of those systems and the potential benefi ts insect-inspired drones could bring. "THE MAIN ADVANTAGE of insects is they're fast, lightweight and low power. That's applicable to everything, even large commercial aircraft." Professor J. Sean Humbert, University of Colorado Boulder Photos courtesy of James Niland, André Karwath, Thomas Shahan, CSIRO and BLM Nevada BUGGED INSECTS PROVIDE DESIGN inspiration