Here’Hybrid Tiger, a small intelligence drone capable of flying for 48 hours over a long distance. Led by the US Navy research laboratory, its maiden flight was carried out in extreme conditions.
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[EN VIDÉO] This intelligent drone wins a sword duel against humans Drones are not very agile because they fly without really being aware of their surroundings. Stanford University, in the United States, has therefore developed a technology allowing them to avoid obstacles even if they are in motion, as is the case with a sword held by a fencer for example. Here it is tested on video.
The military drones American like the Global Hawk, for example, are renowned for their endurance. They can hold in theair almost two days and cover more than 10,000 kilometers. Not very discreet, they have the wingspan of an airliner and weigh about as heavy as a fighter plane. In addition to these unmanned heavyweights, there is a category that plays in the second zone. The soldiers call them the drones of group 2 and they position themselves in the slice of mass from 10 to 25 kg.
Very discreet, they move at 3,500 feet, or about 1,066 meters and cross at a speed less than 470 km / h. TheHybrid Tiger developed by engineers fromUS Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is part of this category of drones. Hybrid, as its name suggests, it is able to fly for several days. Theaircraft was tested in December on its basis ofAberdeen Proving Grounds, in Maryland in the United States and the results of this flight have just been released by the NRL.
AI on board to optimize performance
Question energy, the electric motor has a hybridization based on a battery hydrogen equipped with a 50 liter tank for night flight and a battery for the day. The wings of the drone are fitted with solar panels to complete the energy supply system during the day. To fly longer, you also have to rely on on-board algorithms. Artificial intelligence (AI) makes it possible to vary the operation of the engine and to adapt the behavior in flight according to the weather forecast. Likewise, this AI manages to save energy by exploiting, for example, thermal currents.
During the test, theHybrid Tiger completed a 24 hour flight. By extrapolating the data from this flight, the NRL considers that it could hold in the air for nearly 48 hours over a distance of 1,800 kilometers. It should be added that this test was carried out under the worst conditions, with temperatures below zero degrees, gusts of more than 40 km / h and little soleil. The future tests which could be carried out very soon should make it possible to verify this autonomy maximum. The drone could then also carry a payload dedicated to the intelligence (ISR). In the future, this Hybrid Tiger should equip US special forces to conduct intelligence on the ground.
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