In a collaborative effort, Mitre and the Office of Naval Research (ONR) have successfully developed a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) dubbed “Hopper”. Designed for maritime applications such as surveillance, search and rescue, and meteorological event detection, Hopper showcases innovation in both its functionality and sustainability.
The drone is equipped with small solar cells, providing the capability to recharge both during rest and in flight. Leveraging advanced simulation software, CAD, and 3D printing techniques, the Mitre-ONR team accomplished the rapid development of the Hopper prototype in under two years.
Hopper’s potential applications extend beyond singular missions; it could be deployed in swarms for signals monitoring, marine-life biological research, and other diverse maritime tasks. The expedited development and cost-effectiveness of Hopper offer a notable advantage over traditional crewed or expensive uncrewed assets typically used for broad ocean area surveillance.
“This technology works primarily to augment existing maritime surveillance platforms,” said Conor Mahoney, expeditionary group leader at Mitre.
“Where normally you’d have to risk a crewed asset or an expensive uncrewed asset to maintain cognizance over a wide ocean area, Hopper can do so at a fraction of the cost—and free up those other assets.”
Lee Mastroianni, the program officer for advanced autonomous systems at ONR, expressed excitement about witnessing Hopper’s evolution from concept to a fully functional drone.
The Mitre-ONR collaboration is not just focused on the drone’s hardware. Experiments are underway to integrate satellite transceivers and small radios, assessing Hopper’s communication capabilities in challenging maritime environments.
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