Experiences
and Opportunities with
Miniature
Robotic Aircraft
154-D East Bingen Point
Way
Bingen, Washington 98605
Robotic
aircraft, long relegated to exotic military applications that usually end with
a bang, have in recent years been building toward a boom in applications and
engineering diversity.
Miniaturisation promises to be as powerful a driver as in computing and
consumer electronics, with tabletop-sized aircraft carrying lightweight
payloads on missions spanning thousands of kilometres and several days
duration. The first unmanned Atlantic crossing and related demonstrations in
the 1990s showed the potential; now we are developing production aircraft for
routine use in applications including weather reconnaissance, environmental
monitoring, imaging surveillance, and communications relay. The economy and small size of these
aircraft promise to make such applications practical with unprecedented
flexibility, and wide-scale use looks likely within a few years.
3:30 – 4:30
p.m.