Integrated electro-aeromechanical structures for low-cost, self-deploying environment sensors and disposable UAVs

This paper presents a novel approach for constructing light-weight, low-cost air-deployable sensor modules and miniature unmanned aerial vehicles which consist of printed circuit boards as integrated electronic, structural and aerodynamic lift-producing devices. In this way, each aircraft can be a single-piece, single-manufacturing step assembly, reducing materials, processing and labour costs. This approach allows the fabrication of devices that are sufficiently inexpensive so as to be economic for single-use or disposable applications, such as long-range sensor deployment for environmental monitoring. We present two example low-cost, proof-of-concept aircraft employing electro-aeromechanical structures - rotary-wing and fixed-wing - and demonstrate their flight performance.