NRL, Penn State Univ. demonstrates cooperative soaring concept for UAVs

Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the Air Vehicle Intelligence and Autonomy (AVIA) Lab at Penn State University (PSU), have successfully demonstrated the use of cooperative autonomous soaring algorithms to keep unmanned sailplanes aloft for sustained flight durations.

Photo: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

During the two weeks of testing between Sept. 28 and Oct. 26, the sailplane from PSU was able to stay airborne for 2.5 hours over several flights despite carrying a battery with only enough capacity for four minutes of motor run-time.

[thumb]http://www.nrl.navy.mil/media/news-releases/2016/NRL-Tests-Cooperative-Soaring-Concept-for-Sustained-Flight-of-UAV-Sailplanes[/thumb]