UTFacultiesBMSDept HBEIEBISEducationGraduation assignments2016-03 B-assignment: investigating unmanned cargo aircraft initiatives

2016-03 B-assignment: investigating unmanned cargo aircraft initiatives

Bachelor assignment: identifying and analyzing initiatives for developing unmanned cargo aircraft

Background Information

Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are rapidly gaining interest in the civil transport aviation sector. These remotely or autonomously controlled systems are already widely used for military operations. Further developments based on emerging technologies for extensive civil transport applications are promising. The advantages for civil transport by unmanned cargo aircraft (UCA) as compared to manned air vehicles (MAV) speak for themselves: lower build and operating cost, higher productivity and efficient transport of volumes of cargo that are too small for cost-effective manned aircraft operations. Moreover, UCA have good potential for environmentally friendly operation.

The Platform Unmanned Cargo Aircraft (PUCA) aims to facilitate the development and operation of UCA. One of its activities is to help members who want to develop UCA or start a UCA airline with acquiring the information they need to make informed decisions. That is what this assignment is about.

Worldwide, there are many initiatives for developing UCA hardware (aircraft, engines etc.) and services (cargo transport with UCA). But there has not been a systematic analysis of all these initiatives. Such an analysis is needed for organizations wanting to enter the field of UCA to assess potential competitors and market opportunities.

Assignment

Key objective

Approach


Details

Duration: 10-12 weeks
Location: UT
Assignment level: BSc TBK or Minor Aerospace Management
Start date: ASAP

Information

Dr. Hans Heerkens
Department IEBIS
E: j.m.g.heerkens@utwente.nl
053-4893492


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