The 2011 Shortlist - Aerospace

FLAVIIR
BAE Systems, Cranfield University, Imperial College, Manchester University, Swansea University, Southampton University, Leicester University, Liverpool University, Nottingham University, Warwick University, York University
Joint-funded by BAE Systems and the EPSRC, the £6.2m FLAVIIR project has helped build on the UK’s strengths in unmanned air vehicle (UAV) technology. The 5.5-year project brought together BAE and no less than 10 UK universities in an ambitious effort to develop and evaluate a range of technologies for the next generation of UAVs.

The project’s most visible sign of success was the DEMON demonstrator UAV, which last September performed the world’s first flight demonstration of a fluidic flight-control technology that eliminates the need for moving flight control, such as flaps, ailerons and so on. The DEMON platform was developed at Cranfield University, the flight control system at Manchester and the control algorithms by Imperial College and Leicester University.