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From: Miloch <Miloch_member@newsguy.com>
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Subject: AeroVironment Nano Hummingbird
Date: 24 Dec 2018 07:41:20 -0800
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AeroVironment_Nano_Hummingbird
The AeroVironment Nano Hummingbird or Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) is a tiny, remote
controlled aircraft built to resemble and fly like a hummingbird, developed in
the United States by AeroVironment, Inc. to specifications provided by the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Hummingbird is equipped
with a small video camera for surveillance and reconnaissance purposes and, for
now, operates in the air for up to 11 minutes. It can fly outdoors, or enter a
doorway to investigate indoor environments. It was announced to the public on 17
February 2011.
DARPA contributed $4 million to AeroVironment since 2006 to create a prototype
"hummingbird-like" aircraft for the Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program. The result
was called the Nano Hummingbird which can fly at 11 miles per hour (18 km/h) and
move in three axes of motion. The aircraft can climb and descend vertically; fly
sideways left and right; forward and backward; rotate clockwise and
counter-clockwise; and hover in mid-air. The artificial hummingbird maneuver
using its flapping wings for propulsion and attitude control. It has a body
shaped like a real hummingbird, a wingspan of 6.3 inches (160 mm), and a total
systems required for flight: batteries, motors, and communications systems; as
well as the video camera payload.
Role
Experimental UAV
Manufacturer
AeroVironment
Primary user
DARPA
Technical goals
DARPA established flight test milestones for the Hummingbird to achieve and the
finished prototype met all of them, and even exceeded some of these objectives.
* Demonstrate precision hover flight within a virtual two-meter diameter sphere
for one minute.
* Demonstrate hover stability in a wind gust flight which required the aircraft
to hover and tolerate a two-meter per second (five miles per hour) wind gust
from the side, without drifting downwind more than one meter.
* Demonstrate a continuous hover endurance of eight minutes with no external
power source.
* Fly and demonstrate controlled, transition flight from hover to 11 miles per
hour fast forward flight and back to hover flight.
* Demonstrate flying from outdoors to indoors, and back outdoors through a
normal-size doorway.
* Demonstrate flying indoors "heads-down" where the pilot operates the aircraft
only looking at the live video image stream from the aircraft, without looking
at or hearing the aircraft directly.
* Fly the aircraft in hover and fast forward flight with bird-shaped body and
bird-shaped wings.
The device is bigger and heavier than a typical real hummingbird, but is smaller
and lighter than the largest hummingbird varieties. It could be deployed to
perform reconnaissance and surveillance in urban environments or on
battlefields, and might perch on windowsills or power lines, or enter buildings
to observe its surroundings, relaying camera views back to its operator.
According to DARPA, the Nano Air Vehicle's configuration will "provide the
warfighter with unprecedented capability for urban mission operations."
*
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