新哈弗汽车召回“星球大战”无人机

ETNew Hover Vehicle Recalls ‘Star Wars’ Bike Aerofex Aerial Vehicle

The Aerofex hover vehicle recalls the futuristic look of Star Wars speeder bikes. Credit： Aerofex View full size image

A resurrected hover vehicle won‘t fly through dense forests as effortlessly as the “Star Wars” speeder bikes from “Return of the Jedi，” but its intuitive controls could someday allow anyone to fly it without pilot training.

The aerial vehicle resembles a science fiction flying bike with two ducted rotors instead of wheels， but originates from a design abandoned in the 1960s because of stability and rollover problems. Aerofex， a California-based firm， fixed the stability issue by creating a mechanical system — controlled by two control bars at knee-level — that allows the vehicle to respond to a human pilot’s leaning movements and natural sense of balance.

“Think of it as lowering the threshold of flight， down to the domain of ATV‘s （all-terrain vehicles），” said Mark De Roche， an aerospace engineer and founder of Aerofex.

Such intuitive controls could allow physicians to fly future versions of the vehicle to visit rural patients in places without roads， or enable border patrol officers to go about their duties without pilot training. All of it happens mechanically without the need for electronics， let alone complicated artificial intelligence or flight software. ［Video： Hover ’Bike‘ Flies on Pilot’s Intuition］

“It essentially captures the translations between the two in three axis （pitch， roll and yaw）， and activates the aerodynamic controls required to counter the movement — which lines the vehicle back up with the pilot，” De Roche told InnovationNewsDaily. “Since ［the pilot‘s］ balancing movements are instinctive and constant， it plays out quite effortlessly to him.”

But Aerofex does not plan to immediately develop and sell a manned version. Instead， the aerospace firm sees the aerial vehicle as a test platform for new unmanned drones — heavy-lift robotic workhorses that could use the same hover technology to work in agricultural fields， or swiftly deliver supplies to search-and-rescue teams in rough terrain.

The Aerofex hover vehicle undergoes flight tests in California’s Mojave Desert.Credit： AerofexView full size image

Even the soldiers or Special Forces might use such hover drones to carry or deliver heavy supplies in the tight spaces between buildings in cities. U.S. Marines have already begun testing robotic helicopters to deliver supplies in Afghanistan.

The hovering drones would not fly as efficiently as helicopters because of their shorter rotor blades， but their enclosed rotors have the advantage of a much smaller size and safety near humans.

“They are less efficient than a helicopter， which has the benefit of larger diameter rotors，” De Roche explained. “They do have unique performance advantages， though， as they have demonstrated flight within trees， close to walls and under bridges.”

Aerofex has currently limited human flight testing to a height of 15 feet and speeds of about 30 mph， but more out of caution rather than because of any technological limits. Older versions of the hover vehicles could fly about as fast as helicopters， De Roche said.

Flight testing in California‘s Mojave Desert led to the presentation of a technical paper regarding Aerofex’s achievements at the Future Vertical Lift Conference in January 2012. The company plans to fly a second version of its vehicle in October， and also prepare an unmanned drone version for flight testing by the end of 2013.

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新哈弗汽车召回“星球大战”自行车

ETNew哈弗汽车召回“星球大战”自行车Aerofex空中Vehicle

的Aerofex悬停车辆召回的星球大战调速自行车的未来派外观。图片来源：Aerofex查看原图

一个复活的悬停飞行器不会像“星球大战”的“绝地归来”的“星球大战”超音速自行车那样飞过茂密的森林，但它的直觉控制终有一天会允许任何人在没有飞行员训练的情况下驾驶它。

的飞行器酷似科幻飞行自行车有两个管道转子，而不是轮子，而是从一个被遗弃在20世纪60年代，由于稳定 性和翻转问题的设计源于。 Aerofex，总部位于加州的公司，通过创建一个机械系统 mdash固定的稳定性问题 由两个控制杆在膝盖级 mdash控制 允许车辆以应对人类飞行员的倾斜运动和平衡。

u0026 自然感，把它看成是降低飞行的门槛，下降到亚视（全地形车）， 的领域 马克说德罗氏，航空航天工程师，Aerofex创始人。

这种直观的控制可以让医生飞汽车的未来版本看望农村病人的地方没有道路，或者使边境巡逻人员去了解自己的职责，而不飞行员培训。所有这一切都发生机械，无需电子，更不用说复杂的人工智能或飞行软件。 该线的车辆回来了试点， 德罗氏告诉InnovationNewsDaily。 由于［试行the pilot’s相反，航空航天公司看到了飞行器作为测试平台，为新的无人驾驶飞机 mdash 这可以用同样的悬停技术在农业领域的合作，或迅速地提供供应重型机器人驮马搜索和救援队在崎岖的地形

的Aerofex悬停车辆经过飞行试验在加利福尼亚州的莫哈韦Desert.Credit：AerofexView全尺寸影像

连士兵或特种部队可能会利用这种无人驾驶飞机悬停携带或城市提供重型物资，在狭小的空间建筑物之间。美海军陆战队已经开始测试机器人直升机在阿富汗输送物资。

悬停无人机不会为有效地飞的，因为它们更短的转子叶片的直升机，但其封闭转子有一个更小的尺寸和安性人类接近的优势。

它们比直升机，其具有较大直径的转子的权益， 效率较低 德罗氏解释。 他们有独特的性能优势，但是，因为他们已经证明了飞行中的树，靠近城墙和桥下

Aerofex目前已有限的人力飞行测试，以15英尺和速度约30英里的高度，但更多的是出于谨慎而不是因为任何技术限制。旧版本的悬停汽车能飞一样快直升机，德罗氏说。

飞行试验在加利福尼亚州的莫哈韦沙漠导致了技术文件的演示文稿就Aerofex公司在未来的垂直升降机会议该公司计划取得的成就悬挂其车辆的第二个版本在十月，也可以通过年底准备一个无人驾驶飞机的版本用于飞行测试.