Penguin BE, the unmanned research aircraft, is used by the flight robotics group to test-flight new robotic technologies. It was acquired in 2013 and has since completed about 20 flight campaigns.
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Its autonomous landing on a moving ground vehicle at the end of 2015 was particularly noteworthy. This technology allows the operation of aircraft without landing gear and thus a significantly reduced take-off weight. This is particularly advantageous in so-called HALE (High Altitude Long Endurance) UAVs, since the landing gear makes up a particularly high proportion by weight.
Demonstrator setup for the execution of the landing experiments in the scope of the European project EC-SAFEMOBIL.
Credit: DLR (CC-BY 3.0).
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Credit: DLR (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0).