Featured Company - AeroVironment

This company is based in California and was founded by Paul MacCready. AeroVironment specializes in flying machines, most notably unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and solar-powered airplanes. Innovation has been a prime goal of this company for something like forty years. This company created an all-electric, solar-powered airplane, named Solar Challenger, that successfully flew from France to England in 1981. No fuel! Think about that for a second: an international flight that used zero gallons of fuel. In the same decade, AeroVironment collaborated on the GM Sunraycer, a solar-powered car that won the first World Solar Challenge.

Two of the most significant projects that AeroVironment has today are Raven and Global Observer. The Raven is a UAV that is small enough to be launched by hand. Over 13,000 have been made, and many of them are used by the United States military (especially in Iraq). Various foreign countries also use the Raven, such as the U.K. and Netherlands. Once launched, the Raven can fly for over an hour, reaching speeds exceeding thirty miles per hour and altitudes around two miles up.

The Global Observer is still in development, but it is very promising. It is a high-altitude UAV that should become a versatile alternative to some space satellites. Soaring eleven miles above Earth, the Global Observer burns hydrogen to power its four motors for up to a week. When it runs low on fuel, it will be relieved by a second Global Observer and land for refueling. It may require two UAVs to take the place of one satellite, but flying on hydrogen is cheaper than launching a huge rocket into space. Some of the desired uses for the Global Observer include spying on terrorists, capturing real-time data on weather and natural disasters, and serving as as communication relay.

AeroVironment's latest innovation is called the Nano Hummingbird. This miniscule UAV is capable of flying in any direction and hovering, just like a live hummingbird. It has a built-in camera for surveillance and weighs less than one AA battery. Its wingspan is only six inches long! The DARPA-funded Nano Hummingbird is likely to generate controversy in the coming years. While such devices are great for spying on terrorists, the possibility exists of spying on local citizens (either by the government or other citizens). America has been struggling to find a satisfactory balance between security and privacy lately, and the Nano Hummingbird will not make that struggle any easier. But it will probably save some soldiers' lives and make their jobs a little safer.