VaCAS Spotlight
Dennis Hong among Popular Science’s Brilliant 10
VaCAS core faculty memeber Dennis Hong, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been named to Popular Science’s 8th annual Brilliant 10. Honorees are chosen from among hundreds of nominees each year. “From solar cells to cancer cells, tracking viruses and preventing disasters, the Brilliant 10 are dreaming up solutions for some of the planet’s most vexing challenges,” stated a new release issued by Popular Science.
Hong is director of the award-winning Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa).
Some teams don't require lots of communication
How much communication does a fleet of underwater vehicles really need to autonomously complete a given task? A group of VaCAS researchers wants to answer that question with a very small number. They are developing a new class of algorithms that not only enable teams of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to cooperate as a team, but do so with as little communication as possible between vehicles.
Read more about how the group recently field tested data fusion and motion control algorithms using two Virginia Tech 475 AUVs.
SPAAROs Take Flight
VaCAS has a new fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The SPAARO autonomous aircraft, developed by master's student Justin Murtha, are less expensive and more reliable than the retrofitted radio-controlled RC airplanes they replace. Equally important, they can easily carry a variety of payloads for expanded research and teaching missions. The SPAARO’s large payload capability and easy-to-install features make it a very flexible platform for many applications.