Development and Testing of the Aqua-Quad
by Dr Kevin Jones, NPS Faculty, kdjones<at>nps.edu Under CRUSER funding, a new energy-independent, ultra-long endurance, hybrid-mobility unmanned system has been under development called the Aqua-Quad. It is a concept platform that combines an ocean drifter with a quad-rotor air vehicle, and is intended to be a “launch and forget” asset, typically deployed in small groups or flocks that work as a team to more efficiently meet mission goals. While there are many mission sets where the Aqua-Quad might be advantageous, one in particular, underwater tracking with passive acoustic sensors, was previously addressed in simulation by LT Dillard (MAE, 2014). This has led to current work by LT Cason (USW, 2015), also with contributions by LT Fauci (SE, 2015). Flyable prototype with lower shell removed and feet attached (image courtesy of CRUSER) As seen in the figure, a 20-cell photovoltaic (PV) array is distributed around the four propeller disks. These monocrystall...