 |
Waterspout Helicopter Designed To Take Off Underwater
Waterspout, a small helicopter that can take off underwater from a submarine, has been designed by students at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and the University of Pennsylvania. The joint team of students have won first prize in a US helicopter design competition.
(Underwater helicopter takes off from submerged submarine)
The helicopter is sized to take off from within submarines using existing openings; of necessity, it is large enough to hold only two passengers. Note that this is a design only; no prototype exists.
Waterspout would also float on the water even in rough seas; it would have enough fuel to fly 260 kilometers at a time. The small submarine-based helicopter would make use of stealth technology; it is designed with low heat emissions and special coatings to make it harder to spot with radar.
The Pennsylvania team was responsible for the aerodynamics of the rotors and the fuel system; the Technion team planned the rotor mechanics, the blade-folding mechanism, and the takeoff mechanism.
The model won first prize in the first-degree student category in a helicopter planning competition organized by the American Helicopter Society.
If you're interested in things that fly, but take off from underwater, see Cormorant Submarine/Sea Launched Multi-Purpose Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/31/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )
Related News Stories - (" Vehicle ")
Honda's Tumblebug - The UNI-CUB beta
'A tumblebug does not give a man dignity…'- Robert Heinlein, 1940.
Robert Heinlein, Your Personal Electric Helicopter Will Be Ready In 2016
"They were half way home when a single flyer, hopping free in a copter harness, approached the little parade."- Robert Heinlein, 1954.
Electronic License Plates For California By Smart Plate Mobile
Another science fiction prediction come to life!
Lawmaker License Plates Invisible To Traffic Cams
'Gragg's digital ink license plates flicked from California to Oregon vanity tags that read GECCO...'- Daniel Suarez, 2009.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Army's New Bird-Like Surveillance UAV
'The prototype blue-bellied, gray-backed tracer-bird with the wide-angle eye...'
Honda's Tumblebug - The UNI-CUB beta
'A tumblebug does not give a man dignity...'
NASA's LADEE Enters Lunar Orbit
'... dust normally on the surface picks up and keeps a charge.'
3D Printing An Entire Car
"... Almost as good as the original it was printed from."
Aldebaran Robot Talks Like C3PO - Almost
'See Vee Threepio - Vee for versatility - at your service...'
Google's Skin Tattoo Lie Detector
'Three and a half centimetres in diameter, permanently fixed in the centre of his forehead.'
inFORM Dynamic Shape Output Device
Like that pushpin device you remember, but supercharged.
Owlet Vitals, The Future Of Baby Monitoring
'In every diaper there is a fine copper wire...'
Robert Heinlein, Your Personal Electric Helicopter Will Be Ready In 2016
"They were half way home when a single flyer, hopping free in a copter harness, approached the little parade."
WildCat Runs Faster Than You, Untethered
'...moving with such drifting ease that it was like a single solid cloud of black-grey smoke blown at him in silence.' Almost.
HiBot's ACM-R5H Robot Video Shows Graceful Terminator-Style Swimming
'No! No! Aaaaaaarrrrrrgh!'
tDCS Jumpstarts Your Future
'We invented a scanner that can change the labyrinthine neural connections of the brain by tiny electronic impulses...'.
RealView Interactive Live Medical Holography
Surgeons can see an organ in its entirety in a live image.
Britney Spears And Lynn Minmay - Weapons Of Choice
An attack can take many forms.
Aireal Haptics Inching Towards Holodeck Experience
How to feel something that isn't there?
Starchase Pursuit Management ala Star Wars
Yes, but does it follow evil doers through hyperspace?
