The Truth about Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly making the headlines through high-profile military deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, the general public remains largely unaware of what is going on today in the civilian domain, what the current state of the art is, and how a number of UK academic and industrial groups are leading the world in the scientific and engineering development of many of these new systems and applications. The aim of this project is to dispel some of the myths about what UAVs can and can't currently do, and present information about historical developments, current technology and applications and details of where academia and industry plan to go in terms of research and development.This proposal brings together two internationally recognised academic research groups in this field (who also have experience of public engagement) and is strongly supported by aviation-focussed museums/science centres and industry, who have together offered in-kind contributions worth in excess of 76,000 to the project. We intend to stimulate the public's interest in our research and inspire future generations of researchers by developing a series of static, interactive and live displays at the science centres. The exhibits will explore topics such as the history of UAVs, current platforms that are flying today, the world-leading UK research and development into the civilian use of UAVs and how the resultant systems will benefit the man in the street. We also plan for University staff to spend the equivalent of 80 person-days on site at the centres during the busiest visitor periods. The staff will engage face-to-face with the public, providing a unique opportunity for the public to quiz researchers about UAVs while enabling us to evaluate the impact of the exhibit and the views of the public.