A Drone Helicopter That Can Land On a Moving Truck 60
garymortimer writes with a story (the accompanying video is worth watching) of an unmanned helicopter than can automatically land on a moving surface. Though it's shown landing on a bed of a moving truck, the real purpose is for sea-based use: "This automatic system for take-off, landing and deck-landing of UAVs is the fruit of the joint expertise of Thales and DCNS. Thales is responsible for the positioning system and its interface with the UAV system, the supply of a UAV demonstrator system and slaving of the flight path along a trajectory. DCNS is responsible for predicting the vessel motions, the harpoon system as well as the interface and integration with the vessel."
Re:Impressive (Score:5, Informative)
Impressive but still by far not as good as an experienced human pilot.
Humans have annoying requirements like food, water, and sleep. You can't build experienced human pilots in a factory. Machines are easiler to replace and don't mind if you send them on suicide missions.
Re:Aircraft carrier at sea (Score:4, Informative)
The article says they will test with a frigate. That means lots of movement - they are much, much smaller than a CV. But I don't doubt it is doable. They just need to get in close enough to get hooked into the winch that can take it in and hold it down.