Micro Robotics and Biomimetic System
The DTG group is focused on the development of novel robotic systems to create game changing capability for our commercial and government customers. A major theme within the group is to use nature-inspired concepts to miniaturize mechanisms.
The DTG team is developing a family of hovering Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) that can aid soldiers in combat situations. MAVs are aircraft that have a wingspan smaller than 15 cm and utilize miniature cameras, custom electronics, compact wireless communication and high-density power sources. A major challenge to building MAVs for use in the field is size. Smaller, cutting-edge sensors provide low weight and low power solutions, but must also be robust to harsh operational conditions. DTG works to engineer efficient and field-ready aircraft to help soldiers in the field. With this in mind, DTG interfaces with veteran soldiers about all designs.
Another aspect to developing effective MAVs is the ability to disseminate information. DTG MAVS collect real-time situational awareness data and relay information to handheld devices.
Another are of interest is micro-satellites. In order to make space operations more affordable, micro-satellites are the future of transporting hardware into orbit. Cubesats are 10 cm cubes that are modular, easy to fabricate, and can be quickly modified to perform different tasks, which offers flexibility in mission planning. Since, these devices to not require a dedicated rocket, they can easy placed on an already schedule rocket launch.
The DTG is currently developing Nano-Sats, which can be deployed in clusters to form larger satellites arrays or operate as a single autonomous unit. Each Nano-Sat has special electronic components to accomplish a specific task on orbit, such as RF receiving, particle detection or with other cubes. These capabilities can be combined to perform large operations such as creating an RF antenna array.
To aid in these applications, DTG is currently developing micro-sensors. These small-scale systems require unique sensors to collect positioning and location information. DTG is developing a commercially available product.