AGRC, Aerospace Engineering, University of Maryland

Phase 5: MURI: Micro Hovering Air Vehicles:
Revolutionary Concepts and Navigational Advancements

Sean Humbert (micro systems, 2006)
Army-MURI: 5-year program in Micro Air Vehicles, (2004-09)
Team Members: Australian National University, North Carolina A&T
“Micro Hovering Air Vehicles: Revolutionary Concepts and Navigational Advancements”
DARPA Quieting Program: 3-year (05-08), Team Partner: Stanford
“Advanced CFD methodology to predict vibratory loads and acoustic signatures”

Objective: Develop next generation micro hovering air vehicles (rotors and flapping-wings) with biologically inspired navigational systems

Max dim.= 15 cm, Weight=100 gm, Payload= 20 g Endurance=60 min
Team: UM, Australian National University, North Carolina A&T
5 year program (2004-2009)

MURI

Coaxial Rotor	Single Rotor with Anti-Torque Vanes
15 cm (6”) dia coaxial 2-bladed rotors Gross weight: 100 gm with camera Endurance: 15 minutes Fixed collective, variable speed Swashplate: lower rotor	27 cm (10.5”) dia 2-bladed main rotor Gross weight: 250 gm with camera Endurance: 10 minutes Yaw cotrol with vanes, variable speed Swashplate pitch control

Potential Pay-off to Rotorcraft Center

Additional resources to train rotary-wing graduate students
Help to expand and upgrade the existing rotorcraft infrastructure
(experimental facilities, CFD and aeromechanics methodologies)
Expand the frontiers of sensors technologies
A major push in autonomy (soft ware and hard-ware)
Develop new methods of fabrication (Rapid prototyping and micro parts)
Innovate out-of-box solutions (Cyclocopter, active vanes and flflapping-wings)
Improve knowledge-base in low Reynolds number aerodynamics and ultra-light materials

About AGRC | AGRC History | Gessow | Contact Info | Chronological Events