A sensor-laden plane that flies without a pilot is a tech-sexy concept that illustrates the potential of Stanford research into devices that might mimic biological intelligence. Less dramatic examples, such as planes whose sensors transmit meticulous feedback to pilots and ground personnel about the continuous state of the aircraft, could prove more practicable. But the ultimate idea is to give instrumentation the kind of responsiveness that's triggered by human or animal sensation.
Imagine, for instance, the ability to immediately detect and monitor a small crack in a plane's skin or a sudden change in wind conditions. Aeronautics and astronautics professor Fu-Kuo Chang has been developing "cobwebs" of sensors—flexible polymer nets that can be stretched to unprecedented size without losing functionality—as part of a project with other universities, corporations and the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Chang emphasizes that major obstacles remain because of the broad variety of engineering challenges, but he says "more and more confidence" is emerging from the microwire-and-sensor expansion achieved in the lab. "Most of the focus is on aerospace," says Chang, although the research also is generating attention because of possible uses in automobiles or even medical implants.
Researcher Giulia Lanzara and electrical engineering professor Peter Peumans are among the other Stanford scientists working closely with Chang.
