The objective of this proposal is to develop a low-cost air cargo delivery system that combines a very simple airframe/pallet design with a low-cost "embedded electronics" guidance system. Although various airframe possibilities will be considered, all will be UAV-type systems, guided based on feedback information rather than data acquired before the drop (using dropsondes, for instance). Our goal is to provide an alternative to winds aloft estimation, making the cost tractable through a low cost embedded avionics package (EAP) developed by MIT and commercialized by Nascent Technology Corporation (NTC). During Phase I we will show that guiding a drop vehicle using low-cost on-board electronics, rather than gathering information before a parachute drop can achieve longer range, higher accuracy and higher survivability. In addition, we hope to use very simple airframe designs to reduce cost, subsequently applying flight augmentation and automaton- based UAV guidance methods (also recently developed at MIT) to maintain performance. This proposal is for a new method for military, humanitarian, and disaster relief airdrop that is more accurate, enabling airdrop in locations previously unavailable (cities, exceedingly rough terrain, oil platforms, ship-at-sea emergencies). Cost reduction, increased accuracy, and increased survivability of airdrop are sought. In addition, successful development of a low-cost avionics system would have applications in other military sectors (UAVs, drones, ground force support), in education (low-cost flight test), and in entertainment.
Keywords: Air Cargo Delivery, Airdrop, Guidance, Avionics, Re-Supply, Unmanned, Uav, Embedded Systems
