DARPA-funded effort demonstrates preciseautonomous payload
placement with UAV.
When a person reaches out to place an object in just the
right place, their mind makes a series of judgments requiring vision, stability
and careful movement. Trying to do the same thing robotically from a hovering
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) requires several technology advances. A
DARPA-funded technology demonstration recently finished a successful testing of
vision-driven robotic-arm payload emplacement using MLB Company’s (Santa Clara,
California) tail-sitter UAV, V-Bat. This UAV is capable of both hover and
wing-borne flight, making the delivery and precision emplacement of a payload
possible. A special robotic arm was designed with the capability of carrying up
to 1 pound.