Jay Clemens
Wizbe Innovations has started to develop a technology for the U.S. Army and NASA to control unmanned parachutes, Morning Sentinel reported Sunday.
Keith Edwards writes the startup company uses what Wizbe describes as smart materials to design a system that would help control the speed and direction of unmanned parachutes.
The goal is to help the U.S. military drop supplies to warfighters in the battlefield and NASA to transport spacecraft and equipment back to Earth, according to the report.
Wizbe Innovations’ Stan Farrell told the publication he wants the technology to steer unmanned parachutes to drop cargo within 10 to 20 feet from the target.
The technology is designed with wires to move the fabric’s flaps when a computer sends electric pulse to the wires in order to regulate the parachute’s speed, the report says.
The company recently received a $114,000 grant from NASA to configure the technology in accordance with the space agency’s mission requirements for suborbital flights and return from space, according to the Morning Sentinel.
