Intelligent Motion Video Algorithms for Unmanned Air Systems, Phase II

The Vehicle Systems & Control Laboratory has been awarded a Phase II contract from the Raytheon Company, Intelligence and Information Systems Division to develop and flight test a Reinforcement Learning based approach for autonomous tracking of ground targets using a fixed wing Unmanned Air System (UAS). The capability of autonomously controlling both a UAS and an onboard motion video system to track a selected target can free a human operator to select viable targets, analyze images received, and prosecute mission objectives, rather than having to guide the UAS. Flight test demonstration is scheduled for Summer 2011.

Morphing Microaircraft

Unmanned aircraft that change shape in midflight.

Unmanned aircraft that can morph themselves into new shapes in midflight sounds like fantasy, but Texas A&M aerospace engineers are working to translate science fiction into reality. Associate Professor John Valasek and Assistant Professor Suman Chakravorty, both faculty members in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, are researching morphing as one small part of a $15 million, three-year program to develop new technologies for intelligent micro-air vehicles (MAVs) that have the ability to change shape while they fly. Their work places them at the forefront in MAV control, that is, programming miniature airplanes to fly like a bird without falling from the sky. See More...