Monocopters (MONOCO)

Organization: Temasek Laboratories (TL) and Engineering Product Development (EPD) pillar, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD)

Approved Budget: SG $ 1,340,000

Position: Postdoc Research Fellow

Period: 02/2018 – 09/2019

Details: Monocopters are a class of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) where the entire air-frame is continuously rotated to provide lift during flight. This nature inspired mode of flight can be adapted for controlled powered flight with desired maneuverability and degrees of freedom. Goal is to design and develop a compact monocopter that can be easily transported and deployed remotely to assist a range of civilian and defense applications. It is desired that this platform (THOR) will incorporate transformative capabilities to allow it to seamlessly transit between fixed-wing (speed & range) and monocopter (maneuverability & hover) flight modes during mid-flight and feature intelligent ruggedization to support maritime-based operations.

Role: Design and develop algorithms for nonlinear optimal control system and aerial path-planning of transformable UAVs. Active participation in planning & execution of field trials.

Funding: Jointly supported by the Future Systems and Technology Directorate (FSTD), under the Ministry of Defense, Government of Singapore, Singapore-MIT Design Center (IDC) and Temasek Laboratories (TL) for Systems Technology for Autonomous Reconnaissance and Surveillance (STARS) project.