Inventors win funding for research into 'flying saucers'
A GROUP of dedicated space enthusiasts have won thousands of pounds from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to fund market research into their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) – better known as flying saucers.
A GROUP of dedicated space enthusiasts have won thousands of pounds from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) to fund market research into their unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) – better known as flying saucers.Geoff Hatton and his team at GFS Projects Limited – which stands for Geoff's Flying Saucer – have spent the last seven years working on prototypes for realistic flying saucers.
The uniqueness of the hub-cap machines – which can take off vertically, fly, hover and land, secured a 43,000 research and development SMART grant from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTi) and equity funding from a group of investors a year ago.
And now the project has won a 15,000 grant from EEDA to commission market research to identify and prioritise the market sectors where the craft will be most valuable.
Business Link originally helped introduce GFS to an aeronautical expert in the University of Cambridge and helped Geoff apply for the DTi grant for research and development to get the business up and running.
To date, all the prototypes have been battery-powered, ranging from 10ins to three feet in diameter but GFS believes larger versions could have proper internal combustion engines.
The company is constantly dreaming up new ways of marketing the saucers which they believe could be adapted as toys, to aid mountain rescues, land mine detection and even as state-of-the-art scarecrows.
The competition for EEDA's Proof of Concept fund was intense. It attracted 177 applicants and 50 companies were awarded financial support. GFS was delighted to be one of the winners.
Geoff said: "Ever since I was in the hovercraft industry, I've wanted to develop a craft that could go up into the air as well as move across the ground. At last we've done it.
"Our UAV takes off vertically and can land virtually anywhere. We've filed four patent applications on the basic design and are now developing automated flight controls.
"It is small enough to be carried by one person and can take pictures and gather intelligence on things such as air quality from places where people can't easily go. There are so many market sectors we could target - we've identified over 20 – that we now need professional market research to help us narrow down the options."
EEDA's grant has enabled GFS to appoint England Marketing of Warboys, near Cambridge to do the study. The current prototypes all use electric motors, but the next generation will have internal combustion engines and will be able to carry larger loads and fly for longer.
GFS hope to be able to meet these engineering challenges from local sources and are actively looking for engineering partners.
"UAVs are already in regular military use, but these are normally winged craft that need runways. We have held discussions with the MoD and the Advanced Technology Team from the US Department of Defense and are confident that a contract from one or more of these will be secured soon."
The market research project will be completed by February 2007, when GFS, based in Padholme Road, will then open up commercial discussions about joint development projects with the leading organisations from each chosen sector.
There is always a tendency to make jokes about flying saucers and GFS gets to hear most of them, and turn them to its advantage, as Geoff added: "The sky's the limit for our craft. People usually start off being a little sceptical, but when they realise that a small UAV can save lives as well as gather data, they start to recognise how valuable they are going to be.
"They will be able to reach stranded climbers and accident victims within a matter of minutes. The South African government has just commissioned a UAV development project to produce a craft that can carry blood samples and serum to and from remote villages to hospitals several miles away. The only way to do this now is over the ground and that takes too long. Helicopters can't always be used because of access and expense. The possibilities to meet these sort of challenges are endless and the potential benefits to mankind are enormous.”
e-mail: sarah.gunthardt@
peterboroughtoday.co.uk
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