RoboSwift, the MAV that Could (Fly Like a Bird)

Is it a bird? Is it an airplane? No, actually it's sort of both. It may not be Superman, either, but the small unmanned Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) called RoboSwift is supposed to be capable of quite impressive feats which are sure to leave the commission of the MAV08 competition in awe. The small airplane is designed and is ready to be developed by a team of students in the Netherlands. Its design is borrowed from nature itself, namely from the bird called swift.

The common swift (Apus apus), which also gives the name of the small unmanned plane, is a highly aerial bird, among nature's most proficient fliers. The small vehicle, which draws on the tiny bird's natural characteristics, closely mimics its effectiveness by using the same motion for its wings. As can be seen in the picture in the lower left side of the article, the wings of the craft are designed so that they can be folded backwards, thus changing its wing area, sweep, slenderness and camber.

This feature will allow the micro-plane to enhance its performance during flight, both at low speed and at fast velocities, depending on the situation. But it's not just the wings that give RoboSwift its close resemblance to the actual bird. Another feature that was designed so that it could act just like the real one is the tail of the plane, which provides the device with an improved flight stability and control.

The artificial bird will have three cameras acting as its eyes, two of which will scout the area in front of the man-made swift, while the third will face the ground. The two onwards-looking cameras will serve video-piloting purposes as their image will be projected on the display of a virtual-reality headset, as well as for tracking and monitoring real swifts in their natural habitat. The other camera will relay its images to a ground-based monitor and will be used for surveillance missions.

The student developing team will compete in MAV08, an event taking place in Agra, India, where top-notch unmanned Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) and Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) technology is presented.