Keywords
energy harvesting, mission planning, UAV, unmanned aircraft
Abstract
This paper explores the feasibility of improving unmanned air vehicle (UAV) mission effectiveness by extracting energy from the atmosphere. Specifically, we consider an aerial surveillance mission in the vicinity of a geographic ridge. Cross winds owing over the ridge produce regions of lift on the windward side that can be exploited to increase mission duration. Mission effectiveness is quantified using the seeability metric. Simulation results are presented for several observation target placements. Results indicate that seeability and imaging persistence can be improved by exploiting ridge lift. Simulations demonstrated that targets at ranges less than four times the ridge height were able to be observed over an indefinite period by a UAV with a glide ratio of 11:1.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Cutler, Mark J.; McLain, Timothy W.; Beard, Randal W.; and Capozzi, Brian, "Energy Harvesting and Mission Effectiveness for Small Unmanned Air Vehicles" (2010). Faculty Publications. 1507.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/1507
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2010-8
Permanent URL
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/3430
Publisher
AIAA
Language
English
College
Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Copyright Status
Cutler, M., McLain, T., Beard, R., and Capozzi, B. Energy Harvesting and Mission Effectiveness for Small Unmanned Air Vehicles, Proceedings of the AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, AIAA paper no. 2010-8037, August 2010, Toronto, Canada. doi: 10.2514/6.2010-8037
Copyright Use Information
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