Turn Your Eyes To The Skies For The Latest Explorers

6 ways National Science Foundation-supported research is improving unmanned aerial systems for scientific and societal benefit From strengthening wildlife conservation efforts to improving disaster response, researchers are finding new ways to use small, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) -- also known as drones or unmanned aerial systems (UAS) -- to gather data, improve communication, and explore environments where humans and larger aircraft dare not go. These advances are due, in part, to improvements in UAV technology, as well as clearer ground rules that govern the many uses of unmanned aircraft. Increased federal funding, too, including a recent $35 million commitment from the National Science Foundation (NSF), are helping to advance the basic research required to design UAVs that can save lives, improve safety, and enable more effective science. "Designing and developing highly-capable UAS platforms requires basic research in the theoretical principles of UAS, including sensing, perception, control and communications," says Lynne Parker, NSF director of the division of information and intelligent systems. "Once these agile and robust UAS systems are developed, they can be extended to operate in a variety of challenging domains, such as serving as vital tools for scientific exploration." Since 2010, NSF has funded dozens of UAV research projects related to computing, engineering, earth science and biology. NSF has supported UAV entrepreneurs through its Small Business...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news