A MAV that flies like an airplane and hovers like a helicopter

Abstract

Near-earth environments, such as forests, caves, tunnels, and urban structures make reconnaissance, surveillance and search-and-rescue missions difficult and dangerous to accomplish. Micro-air-vehicles (MAVs), equipped with wireless cameras, can assist in such missions by providing real-time situational awareness. This paper describes an additional flight modality enabling fixed-wing MAVs to supplement existing endurance superiority with hovering capabilities. This secondary flight mode can also be used to avoid imminent collisions by quickly transitioning from cruise to hover flight. A sensor suite which allows for autonomous hovering by regulating the aircraft's yaw. pitch and roll angles is also described