Micro UAV Developed, Tested, Deployed -- in Six Months

The Deseret Morning News, out of Provo (UT), let the cat out of the bag this weekend: BYU students and professors, mostly electrical engineering students, along with other engineering disciplines, have developed a fold-up UAV that's already been deployed by the US Air Force.

The project has taken just over six months, from initial funding to delivery -- certainly a near-record in modern military programs -- and the feedback is positive.

The little (2-foot wingspan) UAVs are GPS-guided, and presumably also have "gyro" capability, to know where they're going, and to get there right side up. They're programmed in the field (range is short, but classified) to fly over either a GPS coordinate, or even a map coordinate; and then fly to another destination, or back "home." Operator experience can be near-zero, and the programming takes just seconds.

The flying machine folds up for storage and transport, about the size of a stubby umbrella. To launch the flight, the operator just throws the tiny machine into the air.

Deseret reporter Leigh Dethman noted, "The plane was first field-tested in August by Air Force special operations teams during war-games trials in Mississippi. Air Force officials were so happy with the mini-plane's performance that they ordered more and deployed them in September."

Whence come these little wonders? From the MAGICC laqb, of course. ("MAGICC" stands for Multiple AGent Intelligent Coordination and Control.)

The next enhancement? The ability to run multiple UAVs from the same laptop.

[The origami is for illustrative purposes only --ed.]

FMI: www.ee.byu.edu/magicc