MMALV - The Morphing Micro Air-Land Vehicle

The current generation of micro air vehicles (MAVs) has reached a plateau in its utility, due to reliance on single-mode locomotion. A micro vehicle capable of both aerial AND terrestrial locomotion would enjoy great utility in first responder and reconnaissance applications. To this end, BioRobots, LLC, University of Florida (UF), Case Western Reserve University, and Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) have undertaken the development of MMALV, the Morphing Micro Air-Land Vehicle. MMALV combines the UF-MAV flexible wing technology with Mini-Whegs terrestrial running gear, developed at Case. Two generations of MMALV have been developed that are capable of flying, landing, walking, and regaining flight by walking off a two-story building. To our knowledge, MMALV is the only vehicle of its size that integrates all of these functions.