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The Naval Research Laboratory’s Vehicle Research Section
recently tested a prototype of a small, simple and affordable unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV). As part of the Autonomous Deployment Demonstration (ADD)
program, the Close-In Covert Autonomous Disposable Aircraft, or CICADA, can be
used to deploy an array of sensors specifically tailored to the mission. The
ADD concept is to enable small UAV equipped with sensor payloads to be launched
from aircraft, either manned or unmanned.
Whether one or one hundred are deployed, the CICADA, which
accounts for little more than a flying circuit board, can be fired from a
cannon. Other deployment options include launching from a larger aircraft or
dropping from a weather balloon. With the multitude of deployment options, the
dangers a human soldier would face are practically eliminated. The single wing
construction minimizes assembly time, wiring requirements and construction
expense.
Available to collect acoustic, chemical or biological intelligence,
Chris Bovais, an aeronautical engineer with the Naval Research Laboratory
states in a 2011 NRL article, “The mission profile is straightforward, the
CICADA is dropped from another airborne platform, flies to a single waypoint.
It descends in that orbit until it reaches the ground.” The CICADA uses a
5-Hertz GPS receiver and two-axis gyroscope to navigate upon entering an orbit.
Delivered by weather balloon during a September 2011 test in
Yuma, Arizona, the CICADA Mark III was deployed at 57,000 feet during multiple
test launches and reached the intended landing locations to within 15 feet on
average. Without propulsion systems and due to their small stature, the winged
gliders are practically undetectable.
Powered by lithium polymer batteries, deployment at such
height can cause freezing issues. Heaters have been installed to keep the
plane’s vital equipment from freezing over. Most CICADA’s are able to be
redeployed almost immediately with recharging accomplished through a universal
serial bus port similar to those of a cell phone charger.
The CICADA Mark III was preceded by CICADA’s Mark I and Mark
II. Recent advancements allow for the Mark III to withstand winds up to 40
knots and 10,000 gravitational force units, thus making the device suitable for
gun-launch applications. As the first known multi-purpose airframe/avionics
implementation of its kind, NRL flight controllers included a custom algorithm
that accurately estimates wind speed and magnitude, despite having no onboard
data sensors.
The military applications allow for the future battlefield
to be wired thus eliminating the need for ground soldiers entering harm’s way.
With deployment through either manned or unmanned aerial vehicles, a scenario
where human life suffers from zero risk in deploying these networks is easily
imaginable.
Sources:
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