ASELSAN is working on an insect-sized nano-UAV
ASELSAN allocates approximately 7 percent of its annual turnover to R&D every year. The company has 8 R&D centers. The 5 ASELSAN sector presidencies, which are separated in terms of their fields of activity, also operate like R&D centers.
In addition, ASELSAN carries out studies to follow the leading technologies of the future with rapidly developing and changing technological innovations such as biodefense, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies, autonomy and mechatronics, and to carry Turkey to the top in the current global race.
In line with its strategic goals, ASELSAN carries out a series of R&D projects in order to provide needed technological gains, support change and development, maintain and move forward the technological superiority of the company. Priority R&D projects and those that have reached a certain maturity are turned into products through the relevant production unit.
ASELSAN Research Center, which is under the R&D Management Deputy General Directorate, takes micro aircraft inspired by insects to its agenda, closely following the studies in this field and working on the production of the first insect-sized, flapping winged micro aircraft in Turkey. For this purpose, researches are carried out on flapping wing aerodynamics, the use of smart materials and docile mechanisms.
Projects in this field will emerge according to the results of the "pioneering research" study.
Capable "insect UAVs"
These micro-aircraft offer many advantages such as gliding through the air, maneuvering in closed areas, low radar surface cross-section, portability and the ability to produce high lift force at low weight. These vehicles have many important applications, including search and rescue missions and operations in toxic environments.
The component that causes a large part of the weight in the design of micro aircraft draws attention as the actuator and motion transmission mechanism used for wing flapping motion. The motor and gearbox make up a significant part of the robot's total mass.
Smart materials such as shape memory alloys, electroactive polymers and piezoelectric materials offer viable options due to their low weight, small size and simple design in order to avoid size and weight limitations in flutter-wing micro-aircraft.
Piezoelectric actuators stand out as the most widely used actuator type in micro aircraft, due to their small size, low weight and fast reaction response. Various configurations and mechanisms for piezoelectric actuators are used in wings to achieve flapping wing motion.
"The goal is to direct the technology"
ASELSAN Chairman of the Board and General Manager Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün told Anadolu Agency (AA) that defense industry companies that aim to develop themselves with an innovative perspective stand out in global competition.
Emphasizing that they are aware of this as a company and that they prioritize R&D and innovation in all their work, Görgün made the following assessment:
"At ASELSAN, with the aim of leading technology, we continue our basic research studies on groundbreaking technologies with an innovative perspective in a wide area ranging from artificial intelligence to autonomy, from photonics to metamaterials, from biodefense to quantum technologies. With the same innovative perspective, we continue to move our country and ASELSAN forward. In addition to carrying out basic R&D studies in the specified technology areas, we also carry out cooperation studies with leading universities / institutes, institutions and organizations in the country and abroad in order to strengthen our R&D ecosystem.
Çığır açan teknolojiler konusunda Türkiye'ye yeni kazanımlar sağlamak için çalışmalar yürüten ASELSAN, böceklerden ilham alınarak tasarlanan mikro hava araçlarını gündemine aldı. - Anadolu Ajansı
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