Autonomous Hovering of a Fixed-Wing Micro Air Vehicle

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Often, homeland security, search-and-rescue, and disaster mitigation efforts have taken place in unforeseen environments which include caves, tunnels, forests, cities, and even inside urban structures. Performing various tasks, such as surveillance, reconnaissance, bomb damage assessment, or evacuating the injured within an unfamiliar territory is dangerous and also requires a large, diverse task force. However, unmanned robotic vehicles could assist in such missions by providing situational awareness without risking the lives of soldiers, first responders or other personnel. Back-packable, bird-sized aircraft or Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) can be rapidly deployed to provide an “over-the-hill” or “around-the-corner” perspective from a remote location. Moreover, a fixed-wing platform capable of hovering would allow potentially long hover and stare modes while maintaining long flight times and a dash capability when speed is required. The hovering mode would also allow flight in caves, tunnels, and other tight, enclosed labyrinths.