Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-lpg2g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T15:10:59.226Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The NRL micro tactical expendable (MITE) air vehicle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

J. Kellogg,
C. Bovais,
R. Foch,
H. McFarlane,
C. Sullivan,
J. Dahlburg,
J. Gardner,
R. Ramamurti,
D. Gordon-Spears and
R. Hartley
...Show all authors
J. Kellogg
Affiliation:
Tactical Electronic Warfare Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
C. Bovais
Affiliation:
Tactical Electronic Warfare Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
R. Foch
Affiliation:
Tactical Electronic Warfare Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
H. McFarlane
Affiliation:
Tactical Electronic Warfare Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
C. Sullivan
Affiliation:
Tactical Electronic Warfare Division, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
J. Dahlburg
Affiliation:
General Atomics, San Diego, CA, USA
J. Gardner
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Computational Physics & Fluid Dynamics, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
R. Ramamurti
Affiliation:
Laboratory for Computational Physics & Fluid Dynamics, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
D. Gordon-Spears
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
R. Hartley
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
B. Kamgar-Parsi
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
F. Pipitone
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
W. Spears
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
A. Sciambi
Affiliation:
Science & Engineering Apprentice Program, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington DC, USA
D. Srull
Affiliation:
CACI, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
Get accessRights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is developing technologies that will enable Navy-relevant missions with the smallest practical Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs). The NRL Micro Tactical Expendable (MITE) air vehicle is a result of this research. MITE is a hand-launched, dual-propeller, fixed-wing air vehicle, with a 25cm chord and a wingspan of 25–47cm, depending on payload weight. Vehicle gross weight is 130–350g. Miniature autopilot systems, based on visual imaging techniques, are being developed for MITE. These will be used in conjunction with conventional autopilot sensors to allow the MITE to fly autonomously. This paper provides an overview of the MITE development, including aerodynamic design considerations, electric propulsion, and vision-based autopilot research. Also presented is a rationale for the development of control laws that can direct the behavior of large groups of MAVs or other vehicle agents. Dubbed ‘physicomimetics,’ this process can bring about the self-assembly of complex MAV formations, though individual MAVs have minimal onboard processing power and limited local sensing capabilities.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 106 , Issue 1062 , August 2002, pp. 431 - 442
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2002 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

1. Zimmerman, C.H. Aeroplane of Low Aspect Ratio, United States Patent Number 2,431293, 18 November 1947.Google Scholar
2. Löhner, R. Yang, C. Cebral, J. Soto, O. Camelli, F. Baum, J.D. Luo, H. Mestreau, E. Sharov, D. Ramamurti, R. Sandberg, W. AND Oh, C. Advances in FEFLO, AIAA-01-0592, Washington, DC 2001.Google Scholar
3. Ramamurti, R and Löhner, R. Evaluation of an Incompressible Flow Solver Based on Simple Elements, Advances in Finite Element Analysis in Fluid Dynamics, 1992, FED Vol. 137, Editors: Dhaubhadel, M.N. et al. ASME Publication, New York, pp 33–42.Google Scholar
4. Ramamurti, R. Löhner, R. and Sandberg, W.C. Evaluation of scalable 3D incompressible finite element solver, AIAA paper No. 94-0756, 1994.Google Scholar
5. Mosis, , Information Sciences Institute, University of Southern California, 4676 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey CA, USA, 90292–6695, http://www.mosis.edu. Google Scholar
6. Miller, and Barrows, G. Feature tracking linear optic flow sensor chip, IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 1999.Google Scholar
7. Pipitone, F. Tripod Operators for realtime recognition of surface shapes in range images, Proc NASA Technology 2004 Symposium, Washington DC, November 1994.Google Scholar
8. Pipitone, F. A Method for Estimating the Pose of Surface Shapes in Six Degrees of Freedom from Range Images Using Tripod Operators, US Patent Pending, Navy Case Number 79822.Google Scholar
9. Pipitone, F, Kamgar-Parsi, B, and Hartley, R, Three dimensional computer vision for micro air vehicles, Proc SPIE 15th Aerosense Symposium, Conf 4363, Enhanced and Synthetic Vision 2001, April 2001, Orlando FL.Google Scholar