Fiscal Year	2015
Division	Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department	Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Investigator(s)	Dobrokhodov, Vladimir N. Jones, Kevin D.
Sponsor	Unconventional Concepts, Inc. (Other)
Summary	The single biggest constraint to unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) usage is endurance. This effort will examine the tradeoff between free-flight maneuverability and endurance. By tethering a camera equipped vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV to the ground to provide power, the UAV can hover for unlimited periods of time in low to moderately windy conditions at a fixed point and relay video data. These "high view" videos taken from up to 100 feet above the ground provide valuable visual data for a large area around the tether site. While the tethered UAV can hover indefinitely, it would have very limited ability to maneuver. The tradeoff produces a system designed to do station keeping at altitude only, but for an unlimited period of time.
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Publications	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data	Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal