Advanced Research Areas for the Development of Autonomous Micro Air vehicles : An overview

For the past one decade great impetus is given to the development of Micro Air Vehicles (MAV). It is an autonomous flying vehicle capable of carrying a payload. The maximum linear dimension of this machine is 150 to 300mm and its weight can vary from 100 to 300 grams. The flight speed is around 10m/s and it operates at Reynolds number in the range of 5x104 to 2x105. MAV flies in the low Re regime and hence there is a marked deterioration of Lift at most operating conditions. This calls for the use of some lift enhancing techniques. Another important criteria is the control aspect of this type tiny vehicles. All these demands can be met only by choosing an appropriate structure/power plant. Flight testing and fabrication of these machines also pose many difficulties and it is tough challenge to design and fly a MAV in the autonomous mode . MAVs can carry various special sensors as payload to support such civil and military missions as traffic monitoring, weather observation, anti terrorists operations and enemy surveillance.