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Research
and development activity in mini and micro air vehicles was suggested
in 1998 at a seminar of The Aeronautical Society of India in Hyderabad.
This activity has since been actively promoted by the National Design
and Research Forum (NDRF) of The Institution of Engineers (India)
with the support of Aeronautical Research and Development Board
(AR&DB). DRDO, CSIR, educational institutions and private groups
have participated enthusiastically in these activities including
flying competitions, both national and international.
Mini
Air Vehicle technology has matured in India to meet many user requirements
while considerable R&D is still required for its micro cousins.
The missions, specifications and applications for disaster management,
defence/security have been studied and a 5 year National Programme
has been proposed for fixed, rotary and flapping wing micro air
vehicles limited to a maximum dimension of 300 mm
Sensors, biomimetics, brain-machine interface, vision based control-navigation-guidance,
simulation, swarm operations, cooperation with surface/submerged
unmanned vehicles and technical support facilities have been identified
as critical technology areas. Appropriate integration of micro,
nano, bio, cogno and information technologies for sensors as well
as power supplies based on light weight batteries and fuel cells
are essential.
It is proposed to have project centers at NAL, IISc, IIT (Bombay),
IIT (Kanpur) and NDRF with a central Programme Center and Executive/Apex
Boards for overall coordination and direction. The project centre
at NDRF would be a consortium involving academic institutions and
R&D groups involved in micro air vehicles. The programme has
been approved by AR&DB and is being processed for sanction of
the Government of India
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