system and a moving target
indicator are used on some
models and provide night IR
and daytime zoom TV feedback, as well as laser designation (illuminating) capability.
Countermeasures are available
to protect the vehicle, as well.
FIGURE 9. Predator UAV.
Flight Summary
FIGURE 8. Cutaway Drawing of Tomahawk.
with a wingspan of 49 feet. Various
versions have an altitude capability of
25,000 to over 50,000 feet and ranges
from 400 nautical miles to well above
1,000 miles in classified ranges.
The RQ-1 Predator variation is a
long-endurance ( 40 hours plus)
medium-altitude UAV designed for
surveillance and reconnaissance
missions. Imagery gained from synthetic aperture radar, video cameras, and a
Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR)
camera can be sent to the front line soldier and his commanders or by satellite
communication links around the globe.
The MQ-1 variation armed with
Hellfire missiles is the multi-role version
that is used for surveillance and armed
reconnaissance. The newer MQ- 9
Predator B Reaper Hunter/Killer allows
a much longer time over an area of
interest without continual monitoring
FIGURE 10. Predator Control Console.
from the ground,
secure air traffic control voice relay, and
an Air Force Mission Support System
autonomy. It was a Department of
Homeland Security version of the
Predator B version that crashed in
Arizona. Two Predator C versions with
turbo-fan jet engines are expected to
be test flown by the Air Force in 2009.
Sensors for the
Predator
An unmanned aerial vehicle is of no
use if it has no sensors to take the place
of a pilot. The large Global Hawk and
other totally autonomous UAVs must utilize a host of sensors to provide real-time
feedback to an onboard processor. The
Predator, though mostly controlled from a
remote location with people in the loop,
must also have real-time sensors to give
the controlling humans a total grasp on
the environment around the robot vehicle.
The synthetic aperture radar is
used for all-weather surveillance
viewing of both aerial and ground environments and has a resolution of one
foot objects. A multi-spectral targeting
CONTACT THE AUTHOR
Tom Carroll can be reached via email
at TWCarroll@aol.com.
I have centered this article on the
military versions of various UAVs as most
funding has gone to improve and update
these very versatile robot vehicles. As
you can see, not all are used for wartime
purposes. Most of the Predator UAVs are
not fitted with offensive weapon systems. Civilian and peace-time uses provide companies and local governments
with extremely valuable data, impossible
to obtain without far more expensive
and hazardous flights by manned planes.
These sophisticated vehicles have
many uses beyond those of the military.
Aerial mapping, high altitude air
sampling, traffic monitoring, geological
and water surveys, and urban planning
are just a few. Autonomous AUVs such
as the Global Hawk can be given a mission; the AUV can take off and fly to its
target area, upload (and download) vast
amounts of information, and fly home
and land, all without people in the loop.
In my research on AUVs, I had
amassed over 47,000 words of data
from the Internet covering 42 different
vehicles. Most had some amazing
feature that would make an experimenter’s mobile robot quite a bit more
capable or useful. I was astounded by
just how unique and multi-tasking these
things are. If anything can be viewed as
a truly intelligent and autonomous
robot vehicle, it is today’s AUVs. SV
All Electronics Corp. ......................... 23, 66
AP Circuits/ e-pcb.com ............................ 21
AWIT .......................................................... 66
Boca Bearings ..................................... 41, 66
CrustCrawler ............................................. 13
Electronics123 .......................................... 23
Futurlec ..................................................... 66
Hitec .......................................................... 20
Images Co. ................................................ 66
82 SERVO 01.2008
Advertiser Index
Jameco ...................................................... 55
Lorax Works ........................................ 23, 66
Lynxmotion, Inc. ......................................... 3
Maxbotix ................................................... 66
Net Media ................................................. 83
Parallax, Inc. ...............................Back Cover
PCB Pool ............................................. 65, 66
Pololu Robotics & Electronics .......... 60, 66
Rabbit, A Digi International Brand ............ 2
RCG Research ............................................. 7
Robotis Co. Ltd. ....................................... 53
Robot Power ............................................... 7
RobotShop, Inc. ................................. 70, 66
Schmartboard ........................................... 23
Solarbotics/HVW ..................................... 37
Technological Arts ................................... 66
TORMACH ................................................. 31
Vantec ....................................................... 48
