Class I (kg) autonomous helicopters are becoming increasingly popular for a wide range of non-military applications such as, surveillance, reconnaissance, traffic monitoring, emergency response, agricultural spraying, and many other \"eye in the sky\" missions. However, an efficient landing/takeoff platform with refueling/recharging capabilities has not yet been developed to increase the endurance and decrease the cost for Class I helicopters.
This dissertation presents a three-prong approach for increasing the range and endurance of Class I autonomous helicopters, which will then spur demand by non-military organizations wanting to take advantage of such capabilities and, therefore, drop their price. The proposed Intelligent Self-Leveling and Nodal Docking System (ISLANDS) is developed as a mobile refueling/recharging station, which is one part of a three-pronged approach. ISLANDS is an electro-mechanical system that provides a safe landing surface for helicopters on gradients of up to 60%. ISLANDS operates \"off the grid\" and, therefore, must provide its own energy sources for the refueling/recharging tasks it performs. A method for determining ISLANDS' energy needs for refueling/recharging of gas and/or electric helicopters for an arbitrary number of days is provided as the second part of the three-pronged approach. The final step for increasing autonomous helicopter endurance is a method for determining placement of ISLANDS nodes in the area to be serviced ensuring that the helicopters can achieve their mission goal.
In this dissertation all aspects of the three-pronged approach are presented and explained in detail, providing experimental results that validate the proposed methods to solve each of the three problems. A case study using Commercially Off The Shelf (COTS) components that shows how all the parts of the proposed three-pronged solution work together for increasing the endurance of Class I helicopters is provided as a conclusion to the dissertation.
","abstract_html":"<p>Class I (kg) autonomous helicopters are becoming increasingly popular for a wide range of non-military applications such as, surveillance, reconnaissance, traffic monitoring, emergency response, agricultural spraying, and many other "eye in the sky" missions. However, an efficient landing/takeoff platform with refueling/recharging capabilities has not yet been developed to increase the endurance and decrease the cost for Class I helicopters.</p> <p>This dissertation presents a three-prong approach for increasing the range and endurance of Class I autonomous helicopters, which will then spur demand by non-military organizations wanting to take advantage of such capabilities and, therefore, drop their price. The proposed Intelligent Self-Leveling and Nodal Docking System (ISLANDS) is developed as a mobile refueling/recharging station, which is one part of a three-pronged approach. ISLANDS is an electro-mechanical system that provides a safe landing surface for helicopters on gradients of up to 60%. ISLANDS operates "off the grid" and, therefore, must provide its own energy sources for the refueling/recharging tasks it performs. A method for determining ISLANDS' energy needs for refueling/recharging of gas and/or electric helicopters for an arbitrary number of days is provided as the second part of the three-pronged approach. The final step for increasing autonomous helicopter endurance is a method for determining placement of ISLANDS nodes in the area to be serviced ensuring that the helicopters can achieve their mission goal.</p> <p>In this dissertation all aspects of the three-pronged approach are presented and explained in detail, providing experimental results that validate the proposed methods to solve each of the three problems. A case study using Commercially Off The Shelf (COTS) components that shows how all the parts of the proposed three-pronged solution work together for increasing the endurance of Class I helicopters is provided as a conclusion to the dissertation.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Godzdanker, Roy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kimon P. Valavanis, Ph.D.","Mattew J. Rutherford, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:26Z","subjects":["Area coverage","Autonomous helicopter","Endurance","System integration","Unmanned system","Engineering","Mechanical Engineering"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/813","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Kimon P. Valavanis, Ph.D.","Mattew J. Rutherford, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Godzdanker, Roy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Area coverage","Autonomous helicopter","Endurance","System integration","Unmanned system","Engineering","Mechanical Engineering"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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This dissertation presents a three-prong approach for increasing the range and endurance of Class I autonomous helicopters, which will then spur demand by non-military organizations wanting to take advantage of such capabilities and, therefore, drop their price. The proposed Intelligent Self-Leveling and Nodal Docking System (ISLANDS) is developed as a mobile refueling/recharging station, which is one part of a three-pronged approach. ISLANDS is an electro-mechanical system that provides a safe landing surface for helicopters on gradients of up to 60%. ISLANDS operates \"off the grid\" and, therefore, must provide its own energy sources for the refueling/recharging tasks it performs. A method for determining ISLANDS' energy needs for refueling/recharging of gas and/or electric helicopters for an arbitrary number of days is provided as the second part of the three-pronged approach. The final step for increasing autonomous helicopter endurance is a method for determining placement of ISLANDS nodes in the area to be serviced ensuring that the helicopters can achieve their mission goal.
In this dissertation all aspects of the three-pronged approach are presented and explained in detail, providing experimental results that validate the proposed methods to solve each of the three problems. A case study using Commercially Off The Shelf (COTS) components that shows how all the parts of the proposed three-pronged solution work together for increasing the endurance of Class I helicopters is provided as a conclusion to the dissertation.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Integrated Platform to Increase the Range/Endurance of Unmanned Helicopters"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kimon P. Valavanis, Ph.D.","Mattew J. Rutherford, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Godzdanker, Roy"],"dc:date.available":["2001-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Class I (kg) autonomous helicopters are becoming increasingly popular for a wide range of non-military applications such as, surveillance, reconnaissance, traffic monitoring, emergency response, agricultural spraying, and many other \"eye in the sky\" missions. However, an efficient landing/takeoff platform with refueling/recharging capabilities has not yet been developed to increase the endurance and decrease the cost for Class I helicopters.
This dissertation presents a three-prong approach for increasing the range and endurance of Class I autonomous helicopters, which will then spur demand by non-military organizations wanting to take advantage of such capabilities and, therefore, drop their price. The proposed Intelligent Self-Leveling and Nodal Docking System (ISLANDS) is developed as a mobile refueling/recharging station, which is one part of a three-pronged approach. ISLANDS is an electro-mechanical system that provides a safe landing surface for helicopters on gradients of up to 60%. ISLANDS operates \"off the grid\" and, therefore, must provide its own energy sources for the refueling/recharging tasks it performs. A method for determining ISLANDS' energy needs for refueling/recharging of gas and/or electric helicopters for an arbitrary number of days is provided as the second part of the three-pronged approach. The final step for increasing autonomous helicopter endurance is a method for determining placement of ISLANDS nodes in the area to be serviced ensuring that the helicopters can achieve their mission goal.
In this dissertation all aspects of the three-pronged approach are presented and explained in detail, providing experimental results that validate the proposed methods to solve each of the three problems. A case study using Commercially Off The Shelf (COTS) components that shows how all the parts of the proposed three-pronged solution work together for increasing the endurance of Class I helicopters is provided as a conclusion to the dissertation.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/813"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Area coverage","Autonomous helicopter","Endurance","System integration","Unmanned system","Engineering","Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:title":["An Integrated Platform to Increase the Range/Endurance of Unmanned Helicopters"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:26Z"}