Small UAS Initiative

Small unmanned systems are achieving new proficiencies in autonomy.
This miniature unmanned aerial vehicle is capable of autonomous navigation, including coordinated maneuvering within a large group of autonomous UAS.
This miniature unmanned aerial vehicle is capable of autonomous navigation, including coordinated maneuvering within a large group of autonomous UAS.

Multidisciplinary teams from Lincoln Laboratory have developed small unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that advance the state of the art in autonomous behaviors, including navigation in challenging environments and coordinated autonomy among large numbers of UAS. To enable these agile, highly capable UAS, we have leveraged improvements in energy storage, sensing, communications, and onboard processing. We are continuing to work to expand UAS capabilities by integrating advanced sensors and novel processing algorithms on the systems. Small, low-cost autonomous vehicles can potentially be used in military operations, humanitarian aid distribution, and search and rescue missions.