Tech-Transfer Event Showcases New UAV

June 1, 2006  - By
Image: GPS World
Image: GPS World

A low-cost, man-portable, reusable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was one of several emerging technologies highlighted at the “Homeland Security: Detect and Protect, Novel Military Technologies for Commercial Use” technology-transfer and federal marketplace event held at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) in Aberdeen, Maryland, on April 20.

Hosted by APG, the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO), and the Tech Council of Maryland, the event showcased technologies under development in APG?s research labs and testing facilities that can be commercialized by local companies. The UAV garnered interest from the Department of Defense Technology Transfer and Commercialization National Center of Excellence for First Responder Technologies at the University of Pittsburgh; American Aerospace Advisors, Inc.; and CTRL Systems, Inc.

John Condon, mechanical engineer at the Weapons and Materials Directorate, U.S. Army Research Laboratory, led the presentation about the Switchblade UAV, which uses real-time video, infrared imagery, and Global Positioning System technology for surveillance applications. The UAV can conduct overhead intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance of infrastructure while carrying such payloads as day/night video, high-resolution snapshots, and chem-bio detectors. It can also deliver remote sensors and warheads to preselected areas on the battlefield. The UAV was developed in collaboration with AeroVironment, Inc., a Monrovia, California-based developer of small UAV solutions.

The one-day homeland security program also included presentations focused on available joint research and patent license opportunities, such as Cooperative Research and Development Agreements, and examples of successful partnerships with APG. More than 250 business executives, entrepreneurs, and researchers from 13 states attended the event. Technology-transfer officials from TEDCO were on hand to provide information about state and federal funding programs that support technology-transfer projects.

For more information about this and upcoming technology programs, visit www.marylandtedco.org.

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