Modular Aerial Vehicle Assembly for In-Field Mission Reconfiguration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerial vehicles face challenges due to rapidly changing mission and payload requirements, lengthy development cycles, and technological advancements that render designs obsolete, leading to high costs and inflexibility.
Innovation Solution
A mission-adaptable aerial vehicle system with modular, reversibly attachable components and a data processing system that allows for in-field assembly and customization, using a user interface and simulation to adjust flight dynamics and stability in real-time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If aerial vehicle design is customized for specific mission requirements, then performance is optimized, but development time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The aerial vehicle is divided into modular components (fuselage sections, wing assemblies, tail assemblies, propulsion units) that can be independently designed, manufactured, and reconfigured. This segmentation allows different mission configurations to be created by assembling pre-developed modules, dramatically reducing development time while maintaining mission-optimized performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The design incorporates reversible attachment mechanisms that enable dynamic reconfiguration of vehicle components in the field. Mission requirements can be changed without lengthy re-development processes, allowing the system to adapt dynamically to new missions while maintaining optimized performance for each configuration.
2Reliability
If aerial vehicle design is customized for specific mission requirements, then performance is optimized, but development cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A single set of modular components can be reconfigured to serve multiple mission types. The universal module design means that one fuselage section, wing assembly, or propulsion unit can be used across different mission configurations, spreading development costs across multiple applications and reducing the cost per mission-optimized vehicle.
Solution Approach 2:
Components that have completed their function in one mission configuration can be recovered and reused in another mission configuration. This recovery and reuse of expensive components significantly reduces the effective development and acquisition cost for each new mission while maintaining optimized performance.
3Ease of manufacture
If aerial vehicle components are fixed in design, then manufacturing is simplified, but adaptability to changing missions decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the vehicle into standardized modular components with reversible attachments, the design achieves both manufacturing simplicity (each module can be manufactured independently using standard processes) and mission adaptability (modules can be reconfigured for different missions in the field).
Solution Approach 2:
The reversible attachment system enables dynamic reconfiguration of fixed manufactured components. The components themselves remain fixed in design for manufacturing simplicity, but their arrangement and configuration are dynamic, allowing adaptability to changing mission requirements without complicating the manufacturing of individual parts.
4Strength
If traditional aerial vehicle assembly is used, then structural integrity is ensured, but in-field assembly capability is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Attachment features and alignment mechanisms are built into the components during manufacturing (preliminary action). This pre-integrated guidance and coupling infrastructure enables field operators to assemble the vehicle without specialized tools or facilities, maintaining structural integrity while enabling in-field assembly capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The reversible attachment system is designed to be self-aligning and self-securing through integrated features on the components themselves. This self-service capability allows field assembly without requiring external specialized equipment or complex procedures, maintaining strength while enabling operational flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed are devices, systems and methods for mission-adaptable aerial vehicle. In some aspects, a mission-adaptable aerial vehicle includes a configuration having swappable, manipulatable, and interchangeable sections and components connectable by a connection and fastening system able to be modified by an end-user in the field. In some embodiments, a mission-adaptable aerial vehicle can be configured to include a main center body extending along a longitudinal direction, a wing with a lateral cross-sectional airfoil shape, and/or stabilizer and control surface structures with corresponding cross-sectional airfoil shapes.