Design and Development of a Low-cost Delivery and Mapping UAV Suitable for Production and Operation in Low Resource Environments

摘要

A new flying wing design has been developed at the Unmanned Systems Lab (VSL) at Virginia Tech to serve delivery and remote sensing applications in the developing world. EcoSoar was designed with three goals in mind: 1.) to deliver medical and diagnostics packages, 2.) to image areas for environmental assessment, and 3.) to create a business opportunity for local entrepreneurs who will fabricate, operate, and maintain the aircraft. Unlike other drone operations in sub-Saharan Africa, the low cost of EcoSoar provides a workable financial model for sustained drone delivery and imaging services.