Mar 13 2013
MLB Company, a leader in low-cost Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) solutions, services and products, today announced it has concluded a DARPA funded research project to demonstrate precision autonomous delivery and placement of payload using its vertical take-off and landing UAV, the V-Bat.
The MLB V-Bat was specially outfitted with a stereo vision system to detect and track an object's position relative to the V-Bat's position in hover flight. Newly developed control logic autonomously guided V-Bat's hover operations and controlled the specially designed six foot robotic arm to accurately pick-up and place the target object.
The V-Bat has the performance of proven fixed-wing designs, with the flexibility of vertical take-off and landing capabilities. MLB's V-Bat can be launched and recovered in a 20x20 foot area and still fly long distance up to 90kts for 10 hours.
"This is an excellent example of the flexibility and capabilities a vertical take-off and landing V-Bat can provide," said Dr. Stephen Morris , CEO and Founder of MLB. "The V-Bat is ideal for shipboard operations, aerial patrol, payload pick-up and delivery or any application that requires access to hard-to-reach or dangerous locations."
For more information and videos on autonomous payload placement, visit MLB's website. Additional information on MLB's UAV Solutions is available on MLB's website.
Source: http://spyplanes.com/