Nanotechnology applied to aerospace and aeronautics: Swarming

Abstract

Since the discovery of carbon nanotubes, we have studied for easy nano-robotic assembly of both the microscopic quantum mechanical band-gap sensor properties and the classical macroscopic noise reduction characteristics along the one-dimensional tube direction for aerospace and aeronautics swarming. As opposed to classical physics of all mini- or micronsized material, the unique ingredient of nano-material is more than being small the reliance on its quantum mechanical properties. Applications of nanotechnology in aeronautics and aerospace also brought the concept of swarms, consisting of a large number of identical mobile devices. For example, the biomimetic control concept of a swarm of tightly coupled mini-UAV requires robust, embedded nano-sensors for flow information with light weight and low power consumption. Analytically, Szu first developed an equilibrium theory for the operation of a swarm of mini-UAV s with an assumption that the statistical average of the net gain by the individual team member vanishes along the mission direction. With this framework, models for the hydrodynamic and the control parameters are fused into the formulations. This allows a direct connection between Nash equilibrium theory and the data collected from the array of nano-sensors embedded on the smart skin of the individual mini-UAV. Copyright © 2005 by the authors. Published by the American institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.