This is a vehicle concept designed by Dr. Vikram Hrishikeshavan, Christopher Bogdanowicz and Dr. Inderjit Chopra from Alfred Gessow Rotorcraft Center at University of Maryland. The idea is to improve the forward flight efficiency and flight envelope of conventional quad rotors without adding any fixed wing controls. It can be expanded for hybrid air missions such as package delivery etc. Wind tunnel testing showed a cruise power drop of up to 3 times that required to hover.
More information at: Poster: http://goo.gl/0JyKml, Paper: http://goo.gl/IoxJ3i (International Journal of Micro Air Vehicles, No. 3, Vol. 6, Sep 2014)
