SBIR Phase I: A Novel Form of Distributed Electric Propulsion for UAVs and Air Mobility

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是提高无人驾驶飞行器(UAV)和空中出租车在城市环境中运行的能力。这种推进技术的外形因素将允许飞行器在狭窄的空间内机动、着陆和停放，并减少或消除螺旋桨接触伤害的风险。这些新能力将使无人机和空中出租车能够在密集的城市环境中运行，并更接近人类，而不会有受伤或与城市环境相撞的风险。反过来，这将加快自动包裹递送等应用的速度，在这些应用中，无人机预计将围绕不可预测的人类自主操作，以及空中出租车，在紧密机动和接近等待的乘客方面存在固有的挑战。此外，这些制造技术可能会在可穿戴和植入式混合电子系统等领域找到其他应用。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目将推动无人机和载人飞行器能力的发展。这项拟议的研究将开发一种新的推进解决方案，可以构建成目前技术无法实现的因素。这些外形因素的设计既可以消除螺旋桨接触对人体造成伤害的可能性，又可以在非常近的距离内实现显著更高的机动性。这一解决方案的实施将需要在柔性混合电子产品(FHE)制造方面进行新的创新，将柔性基板与支撑电子产品相结合。该项目将通过使用灵活的混合电子制造技术建造一个原型设备来评估这一建议方法的技术可行性。该项目随后将在与无人机和其他城市空中机动性系统设想的任务相关的环境中进行验证和确认测试。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be to advance the capability for both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and air taxis to operate in urban environments. The form factor of this propulsion technology will allow air vehicles to maneuver, land, and park in tight spaces and to reduce or eliminate the risk of propeller contact injuries. These new capabilities will allow unmanned aerial vehicles and air taxis to operate in dense urban environments and in closer proximity to human beings without risk of injury or collision with the urban environment. In turn, this will accelerate applications such as autonomous package delivery, where UAVs are expected to operate autonomously around unpredictable humans, as well as air taxis, with inherent challenges in tight maneuvering and proximity to waiting passengers. Furthermore, these manufacturing techniques may find other applications in fields such as wearable and implanted hybrid electronic systems. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will advance the state of the art in unmanned aerial vehicle and manned air vehicle capabilities. The proposed research will develop a novel propulsion solution that can be built to form factors unachievable with current technology. These form factors can be designed to both eliminate the possibility of propeller contact injuries to human beings and allow a significantly higher degree of maneuverability in very close quarters. The implementation of this solution will require new innovations in the manufacture of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE), combining flexible substrates with support electronics. This project will evaluate the technical feasibility of this proposed approach through the construction of a prototype device using flexible hybrid electronics manufacturing techniques. This project will then conduct verification and validation tests in environments relevant to the missions envisioned for unmanned aerial vehicles and other urban air mobility systems.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.