Multifunctional Integrated Sensing Cargo Pocket UAS

Palm-sized unmanned aerial systems (nano UAS) weighing tens of grams have evolved to the point where they are becoming useful to the warfighter. However, their small mass, fragility, and limited batteries still necessitate the use of emerging, low mass/power technologies to meet the full range of potential missions, including new autonomous flight control and collision avoidance strategies, structural improvements to mitigate impacts, and extremely lightweight sensor payloads. Nanosensors integrated directly with flight control or other drone subsystems and structural airframe elements offer a particularly promising pathway to the fielding of nano UAS that can navigate through extremely difficult environments to home in on chemicals of interest. This Phase I effort will explore combinations of commercially-available nano UAS, commercial and emergent UAS subsystems, and a scalable nanosensor manufacturing technology to develop potential designs for a nano UAS capable of operating in close ground and indoor environments, surviving collisions at up to 10 m/s, and fitting within a cargo pocket. The effort will include a comprehensive survey of the UAS industry, refinement and adaptation of the nanosensors to the UAS environment, and initial engineering specification and prototyping of UAS subsystems and platforms in preparation for a more extensive Phase II effort.