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Unmanned Robot Ambulance Passes Hover Test
| 2010-01-27 |
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An Israeli company successfully tests the flight ability of an unmanned robotic ambulance designed to evacuate wounded from the battlefield.An Israeli company claims it has successfully tested the flight ability of a robotic ambulance designed to evacuate wounded from the battlefield.
Tel Aviv-based Urban Aeronautics predicts the car-sized unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) could save lives by eliminating the need to send additional corpsmen through firefights to evacuate the wounded, and could get the wounded to medical help more quickly by flying over obstacles instead of around them.
The test—conducted with the craft firmly tethered to the ground—showed that the 730-horsepower turbo-shaft engine was powerful enough to lift the craft off the ground. More importantly, it showed the doubly redundant flight control system was able to accurately sense the craft’s orientation and keep it stable and straight on all three axes.
The vehicle, called AirMule, which looks remarkably like a "Star Wars" landspeeder, uses GPS systems to sense speed and position, and two laser altimeters to confirm its position relative to the ground.
The flight-control system uses four separate channels to communicate with controllers on the ground, and uses GPS data almost exclusively to figure out where it is and whether it’s right-side-up or upside-down.
Two feet isn’t high for an aircraft, but is enough to push the vehicle outside the range of its own ground effect, according to a statement from the company.
Hovercraft fly by blowing a powerful stream of air toward the ground, which bounces the blast back toward the hovercraft, making the same volume of air press the craft up several times rather than just once. More than a couple of feet off the ground, the reflected blast of air dissipates and creates turbulence rather than lift.
This test showed AirMule can hover in place despite a weakening ground effect and crosswinds that could both push it out of position and weaken its lift by pushing the column of air on which the UAV hovers out of alignment.
A video of the test can be seen here.
The next test—the timing for which was not announced—will focus on how well the craft can correct its yaw, tilt and roll while not tied to the ground.
The Israeli Defense Force has said it might be interested in the AirMule as a way to evacuate wounded soldiers or civilians from urban areas, at least partially because the ducted fans that provide lift and thrust for AirMule are all shielded.
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