Ironically, the final frontiers for the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) are the closest spaces at hand. There is an urgent operational capability gap in the area of proximate reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition (PRISTA) as well as close quarters combats (CQC). Needs for extremely close range functionality in land, sea and urban theaters remain unfilled, largely due to the challenges presented by the maneuverability and silent operating floor required to address these missions. The evolution of small, nimble and inexpensive VTOL UAV assets holds much promise in terms of filling this gap. Just as UAVs have evolved from large manned aircraft, so have MAVs (Micro Aerial Vehicles) evolved from UAVs. As unmanned aviation evolves into aerial robotics, NAV (Nano Aerial Vehicle) research will become the next hotbed of unmanned aerial systems development as these systems continue to mature in response to the need to find robotic replacements for humans in PRISTA, CQC, and many other hazardous duties.

Date Published: 7 May 2010
PDF: 16 pages
Proc. SPIE 7692, Unmanned Systems Technology XII, 76920E (7 May 2010); doi: 10.1117/12.850296

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7692:
Unmanned Systems Technology XII
Grant R. Gerhart; Douglas W. Gage; Charles M. Shoemaker, Editor(s)