SUAV:Q - An improved design for a transformable solar-powered UAV

D'Sa, Ruben; Jenson, Devon; Henderson, Travis; Kilian, Jack; Schulz, Bobby; Calvert, Michael; Heller, Thaine; Papanikolopoulos, Nikolaos

doi:10.1109/iros.2016.7759260

Cited by 24 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…This trend is even more prominent on quadrotors, which have higher energy requirements. As a solution, D'Sa et al ( 2016 ) proposed an MAV design that can alternate between fixed wing and quadrotor mode, such that “ surplus energy collected and stored while in a fixed wing configuration is utilized while in a quadrotor configuration .” Recently, Goh et al ( 2019 ) demonstrated a fully solar-powered quadrotor. To meet the energy requirements, an area of 4 m 2 was required together with a reliance on ground-effects, meaning that the MAV was bound to low altitudes.…”

Section: Further Challenges and Future Developments To Be Madementioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Swarming With Micro Air Vehicles: Fundamental Challenges and Constraints

et al. 2020

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This work presents a review and discussion of the challenges that must be solved in order to successfully develop swarms of Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) for real world operations. From the discussion, we extract constraints and links that relate the local level MAV capabilities to the global operations of the swarm. These should be taken into account when designing swarm behaviors in order to maximize the utility of the group. At the lowest level, each MAV should operate safely. Robustness is often hailed as a pillar of swarm robotics, and a minimum level of local reliability is needed for it to propagate to the global level. An MAV must be capable of autonomous navigation within an environment with sufficient trustworthiness before the system can be scaled up. Once the operations of the single MAV are sufficiently secured for a task, the subsequent challenge is to allow the MAVs to sense one another within a neighborhood of interest. Relative localization of neighbors is a fundamental part of self-organizing robotic systems, enabling behaviors ranging from basic relative collision avoidance to higher level coordination. This ability, at times taken for granted, also must be sufficiently reliable. Moreover, herein lies a constraint: the design choice of the relative localization sensor has a direct link to the behaviors that the swarm can (and should) perform. Vision-based systems, for instance, force MAVs to fly within the field of view of their camera. Range or communication-based solutions, alternatively, provide omni-directional relative localization, yet can be victim to unobservable conditions under certain flight behaviors, such as parallel flight, and require constant relative excitation. At the swarm level, the final outcome is thus intrinsically influenced by the on-board abilities and sensors of the individual. The real-world behavior and operations of an MAV swarm intrinsically follow in a bottom-up fashion as a result of the local level limitations in cognition, relative knowledge, communication, power, and safety. Taking these local limitations into account when designing a global swarm behavior is key in order to take full advantage of the system, enabling local limitations to become true strengths of the swarm.

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Section: Further Challenges and Future Developments To Be Madementioning

confidence: 99%

A Survey on Swarming With Micro Air Vehicles: Fundamental Challenges and Constraints

et al. 2020

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“…Efforts were made to combine the fixed-wing and rotary types of UAVs into hybrid models to take advantage of their pros and compensate for the disadvantages [52,53]. Hybrid UAVs combine the VTOL ability of multi-rotor UAVs and cruise flight of fixedwing UAVs [54]. While the ability to VTOL makes these UAVs capable of operating in almost any location, the fixed-wing design provides greater endurance, the ability to cover longer distances, and the option to fly faster.…”

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confidence: 99%

A Technical Study on UAV Characteristics for Precision Agriculture Applications and Associated Practical Challenges

et al. 2021

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The incorporation of advanced technologies into Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) platforms have enabled many practical applications in Precision Agriculture (PA) over the past decade. These PA tools offer capabilities that increase agricultural productivity and inputs’ efficiency and minimize operational costs simultaneously. However, these platforms also have some constraints that limit the application of UAVs in agricultural operations. The constraints include limitations in providing imagery of adequate spatial and temporal resolutions, dependency on weather conditions, and geometric and radiometric correction requirements. In this paper, a practical guide on technical characterizations of common types of UAVs used in PA is presented. This paper helps select the most suitable UAVs and on-board sensors for different agricultural operations by considering all the possible constraints. Over a hundred research studies were reviewed on UAVs applications in PA and practical challenges in monitoring and mapping field crops. We concluded by providing suggestions and future directions to overcome challenges in optimizing operational proficiency.

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