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Tactical Information Craft
The most recent UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) from Theiss Aviation is the TIC or Tactical Information Craft.
This company has been awarded several contracts already, including a contract from NASA and one from the Air Force Research Laboratories.
The new model TIC costs around $6,000 and can potentially be launched from the trunk of a car. It contains chemical as well as biological sensors and could also be outfitted with a small color camera. These vehicles are designed to fly in ventilation shafts, tunnels, small quarters and even dense woods. Using a 72 MHz radio, the TIC has a range of 1.5 miles and can be run in basic radio controlled mode, auto assist mode or completely autonomously.
Theiss Aviation is now seeking to sell these aircraft to police departments, search and rescue crews or other emergency personnel.
Unfortunately the FAA seeks to treat these tiny craft just like regular planes.
The owners of a TIC must register the aircraft with the FAA and give 60 days notice of flight plans to the FAA.
Link via (Fortune Small Business)
Mono Tiltrotor UAV
More drones folks. This time we have something from Baldwin Technology in response to a request from the US Office of Naval Research.
The concept is basically this. The Mono Tiltrotor (MTR) would be small enough to go inside a cargo plane. A crew would attach supplies such as food, batteries etc. The vehicle would then take off, deliver the supplies and return on its own.
This would eliminate the need to put helicopter crews in harms way when delivering supplies in hostile areas.
Videos after the break.
Link via (The Register)
Black Hornet Drones
Prox Dynamics has developed a mini drone called Black Hornet.
This quiet robotic drone sports a video camera and weighs less than 20 grams. Some other highlights are:
• Complete Black Hornet System Carried by One Man
• Ready to Fly – In the Air Within One Minute
• Requires No Prepared Surface
• Stealth – Small and Quiet
• Reusable with Fly Home Capability
• Low Cost
• Easy to Fly, Requires Little Training
As this is only a prototype, spying on your neighbors will have to wait until 2009 or 20010.