Air Force Contract Awarded for Micro Vehicle Battery Research

MAV prototype (photo: ISAE/AFRL)

ADA Technologies Inc. in Littleton, Colorado received a $100,000 contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory for research on powering micro air vehicles (MAVs) — unmanned aerial vehicles that can be as small as six inches in size and allow remote observation in areas that are inaccessible to ground vehicles.

ADA’s research is aimed at developing a hybrid-power device for MAVs capable of operating in both high-power and high-energy modes, such as in flight and with sensors deployed for surveillance. The company says the increased energy and power density provided by the proposed technology should offer greater on-board power for MAVs, and allow for more payload capacity. The research should also improve the safety and lengthen the lifetimes of the energy storage devices.

Design World has a video (4 mins 30 secs.) on MAVs produced for the Air Force Research Laboratory.