We have lift-off
A
team of students and staff from UniSA have achieved a breakthrough in an
ongoing project to produce a flying platform suitable for search and rescue
operations.
After months of research, trial and error, the team from the School of Electrical and Information Engineering have achieved lift-off with their prototype.
The breakthrough was partly thanks to visiting Dutch scientist, Hans Dirne who spent three months working on the model over summer as part of his Masters degree.
With the help of Professor Lakhmi Jain, Nikhil Ichalkaranje, Tony Gelonese, Uli Kruger, Patrick O’Sullivan and PhD student Chris Sioutis, Dirne produced a computer-controlled scale model with electric motors working synchronously to keep the craft airborne.
The team is yet to achieve their ultimate aim of demonstrating the use of intelligent agent software (that is, software with human-like abilities to respond to changing conditions) to control the aircraft, but they have done well to get this far, attracting industry backing to continue the project.
The Defence Science and Technology Organisation has offered financial and technical support, while Sioutis’ work on the software component has been boosted thanks to the backing of Melbourne-based agent software company, Agent Oriented Software.
Potential applications are many and varied, but one possibility would be the platform being used to rescue people from burning high-rise buildings.
While Dirne has returned to complete his studies at the University of Twente in The Netherlands, UniSA’s Prof Jain and DSTO’s Pierre Urlings and Jeff Tweedale are looking to recruit a number of engineering students to help take the project to the next level. For more information, email lakhmi.jain@unisa.edu.au