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University to unveil UAV

National Cheng Kung University will unveil an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with advanced functions next month, a professor with the school's Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics said earlier this week.

Hsiao Fei-bin (蕭飛賓) said that the unmanned aircraft, dubbed "Spoonbill," would set a new standard for the country's UAV development, with advanced functions such as the ability to fly beyond visual range and ground target tracking.

Spoonbill's design was based on a previous model called "SWAN" which stands for surveillance, watch, autonomous navigation. The previous UAV was unveiled in 2005, Hsiao said.

SWAN and Spoonbill were developed by the Remotely Piloted Vehicle and Micro Satellite Research Lab (RMRL) led by Hsiao.

In a demonstration flight in 2005, SWAN flew 16km on a round trip from Tungkang, Pintung County, to Siaoliouciou (小琉球).

The new UAV will go through a series of flight tests and will perform a flight demonstration over the Taiwan Strait in October between Tainan County and Penghu, Hsiao said.

The RMRL has been doing research into unmanned aerial vehicle systems since its establishment in 1985.

UAVs developed by RMRL have been used in various applications such as aerial photography, real-time video transmission and for global positioning systems.

Hsiao said UAVs can be used for a wide variety of functions, such as remote sensing, transport, and scientific research. Many have military applications.
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