AF04-177 TITLE: Multi-Mode Mobility
TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Weapons
OBJECTIVE: Develop and advance enabling technologies to allow a small device to transition
between air and land mobility.
DESCRIPTION: In the ever changing battlespace environment, the ability to have a Micro Air
Vehicle (MAV) change its physical shape by collapsing its wings on to its airframe could enable
its new geometry to take advantage of an alternate mode of mobility and thus enhance its
operational utility. This technology would allow a single vehicle the ability to perform
multiple missions. An example would be to have a MAV fly to the top of a building, land, and
then change geometry, and then move to the edge of the roof (rolling, crawling, hopping, etc.)
and collect video imagery. Following mission completion, the device would reconfigure its
geometric shape, fly off the building, and then return to its home base or continue its mission.
This ability to change physical shape or "morph" will require innovative technologies such as
miniature smart structures, power miniaturization and management, micro conformal sensors, and
MEMS technologies. The major technical risks will be in the development of a small power system,
and in the miniaturization of required components. It is envisioned that this technology will be
applied to an MAV with a maximum wingspan of 12 in and weighing less than 1.0 lb, and will have
the ability to maximize mission effectiveness to support the warfighter.
PHASE II: Move the project from simulation and individual subcomponents to an integrated
prototype system.
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