A team from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) have broken their own record after flying their hydrogen fuel cell powered-Ion Tiger UAV for an astonishing 48 hours and 1 minute last month. The UAV, which used liquid hydrogen fuel in its  new, NRL-developed, cryogenic fuel storage tank and delivery system, broke its previous record of 26 hours and 2 minutes which it set in 2009.

Read the rest of Naval Research Laboratory Flies Their Hydrogen-Powered Ion Tiger UAV for Over 48 Hours

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: fuel cell, hydrogen, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen power, Ion Tiger UAV, liquid hydrogen, Naval Research Laboratory, NRL, UAV

Boeing’s drone aircraft, the Phantom Eye UAV, just completed its debut autonomous flight on June 1 at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. The aircraft intially flew for 28 minutes (a short trail run) and then set off on a solo journey that would last for four days straight. Powered by liquid hydrogen, the Phantom Eye climbed to an altitude of 4,080 feet and reached a cruising speed of 62 knots — all while only releasing water as its byproduct!

Read the rest of Boeing’s Hydrogen-Powered ‘Phantom Eye’ Successfully Completes Its First Flight

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: boeing, boeing phantom eye, boeing spy planes, boeing surveillance planes, clean technology, First Flight, hydrogen fuel, hydrogen fuel planes, Hydrogen Propulsion, nasa, new boeing technology, phantom eye, UAV

A remote-controlled quadrocopter recently set a new world record by staying aloft for 12 hours using energy beamed up to it by lasers. Developed by LaserMotive, the quadrocopter has photovoltaic panels installed all along its belly, which absorb laser light to power the vehicle. The quadrocopter hovered at 30 feet for 12 hours, breaking LaserMotive’s previous record.

Read the rest of Laser-Powered Helicopter Breaks World Record

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Ascending Technologies, AscendingTechnologies, autonomous, flight, flight record, FlightRecord, helicopter, Laser, laser power, laser powered, LaserMotive, LaserPower, LaserPowered, Pelican, photovoltaic, quadrocopter, record, robot, solar, Solar Power, solar-powered, SolarPower, SolarPowered, UAV

While they may resemble a fleet of space invaders, these flying robots are actually designed to aid in disaster relief. Developed by the EPFL School of Engineering, the Swarming Micro Air Vehicle Network (SMAVNET) is a group of flying robots that can be deployed during a disaster to create a communication network for rescuers. By flying, the robots are able to overcome any diffcult terrain or other issues they might encounter on the ground, and they provide line-of-sight communication so ground rescuers can contact each other and bases of deployment.

Read the rest of Flying Disaster Relief Robots Create Communication Networks

Permalink | Add to del.icio.us | digg
Post tags: Disaster Relief, DisasterRelief, distaster, epfl, glider, linux, micro air vehicles, MicroAirVehicles, network, networking, robot, SMAVNET, Swarm, UAV, Video