| abstract |
A configurable unmanned vehicle 1102 has a bay 1106 suitable for receiving two or more selected components 120-128 relating to at least one of flight control or operation of the vehicle. The bay may be located in a fuselage 1112 and have a communications bus or a number of busses, such as a controller area network (CAN bus) or Ethernet, for the selected components, with a controller to determine the presence or configuration of components coupled to the bus. Components may include: flight controller; payload; communications link; propulsion or rotor modules 104; power supply; tail module 108; or a mission module. The vehicle may be self-configuring, with the bus receiving two or more plug and play components. A foldable wing (fig.12,1202/1204) is also claimed, the flat pack wing kit comprising a planar plastic with a number of scores (fig.12,1206,1208,1210,1212,1214,1216) to facilitate folding portions of the wing during assembly, and two or more holes for receiving clips arranged to retain a rigid spar (fig.12,1258,1260,1262,1264). The unmanned vehicle may have the advantage of space saving as mission or task specific drones do not have to form part of a ships inventory, and that modules can be easily replaced if damaged, for example. |