Dr. John Raquet, Director of the Autonomy and Navigation Technology (ANT) Center at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), gave a presentation on UAVs vs Natural Autonomous Vehicles (NAVs): Are We Closing the Gap?
Abstract
There have been many significant advancements in UAV technology over the past 10-15 years. In this presentation, we will step back and evaluate how well we are really doing in this area by comparing performance of UAVs with those of Natural Autonomous Vehicles (NAVs), defined as entities that fly but are not designed, built, or controlled by a humans (birds, for example). Performance will be evaluated according to eight different metrics, and the “best in class” UAVs and NAVs for each metric are directly compared. The picture that emerges provides insight into where to put our UAV development efforts as we move toward the future.
Speaker’s Bio
Dr. Raquet is the Director of the Autonomy and Navigation Technology (ANT) Center at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), where he is also a Professor of Electrical Engineering. He has a multidisciplinary background teaching in electrical engineering but having degrees in geomatics engineering (Ph.D., University of Calgary, 1998), aero/astro engineering (SM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1991), and astronautical engineering (BS, US Air Force Academy, 1989). He has published over 180 navigation-related conference and journal papers and taught 70 navigation-related short courses to over 3000 students in many different organizations. He is currently the President of the Institute of Navigation (ION), and is an ION Fellow.