Back to Student and Alumni Profiles

DHS Fellow and engineer Brian Taylor seek to aid military with unique unmanned aerial vehicles

(Mar. 23, 2007)

DHS Fellow Brian Taylor is helping to develop a new form of unmanned aircraft which aims to aid the U.S. military during conflict. While unmanned aerial vehicles are not necessarily a new concept, Taylor, a Master’s degree candidate in aerospace engineering at Case Western Reserve University, is helping to develop smaller, lighter, more robust vehicles than those of the past.

Taylor’s project, the Micro Morphing Air and Land Vehicle (MMALV), is a small unmanned air vehicle able to both fly through the air and walk on the ground. This combination of abilities is unique among unmanned aircraft. The project combines the ground mobility expertise of Case Western Reserve with the aerial experience of the University of Florida.

His specific work involves giving the MMALV foldable wings which adds to its uniqueness and functionality. Made with a carbon fiber fuselage and fabric wings, the folding wings will reduce the vehicle’s wingspan (on the order of one to two feet). This reduction in size will allow for increased ground mobility, protection of the wings during ground operation, and easy transport when the vehicle is not in operation.

Because of its unique characteristics, Taylor’s aircraft could be a nice fit for soldiers on the ground. “The purpose of this vehicle is to serve as an unmanned hybrid land / air vehicle that can be sent into hazardous or hostile environments,” explains Taylor. “It will be able to gather and relay intelligence so that decisions can be made about how to proceed without having to send people in to do the data collection.”

Taylor is in the process of completing his Ph.D. qualifying examination and hopes to continue his research at Case Western.