Boston Engineering Wins USAF Contract For UAV Motor Control Capabilities

Boston Engineering has won a $150,000 contract from the US Air Force to enhance its UAV capabilities and to also reduce drone noise.

Specifically, Boston Engineering announced Friday that it will demonstrate an embedded motor control platform to accelerate US Air Force UAV research and development initiatives.

Embedded motor controllers underpin critical UAV operations including drone propulsion and sensors for applications including surveillance.

Boston Engineering received the Phase I award from the US Air Force's Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program.

"We have two decades of motion control experience for industrial and government clients, and we are uniquely positioned to drive innovation in UAVs and similar ground and underwater applications," said Mark Smithers, co-founder and chief technology officer at Boston Engineering.

Boston Engineering is bridging a market gap between commercial motor control products that don't meet the U.S. Air Force's rigorous UAV requirements and the technical expertise required for custom embedded control systems.

"We are providing the U.S. Air Force with a sophisticated motor control framework to accelerate next-generation UAV development without the need to have extensive embedded control systems experience," said Guy Fichera, director of the Industrial & Commercialpractice at Boston Engineering.

Boston Engineering complements its motion control and product development consulting with its FlexMC Motor Control Development Platform, the company's rapid-development system for any motor control solution.

The FlexMC Kit enables users to accelerate time-to-market and to increase performance with powerful model-based design tools.

Global FlexMC Kit adoption includes Analog Devices, which has selected Boston Engineering as its exclusive motor control design partner in North America and Europe.