Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe by Chen Xu

Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe by Chen Xu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award Ario in Mamanu Fa'alumana'i Competition Category.

ArioFa'alumana'i· 2025

Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe

by Chen Xu

Client: Beihang University

A' Design Award Ario Winner in Fa'alumana'i Category

200,214

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #170590

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe

O le Skybridge o se helikopa e leai se tagata faafoe ua mamanuina mo le momoliina o uta mai vaa i motu e leai ni uafu. O le fausaga o le vaalele e mulimuli i foliga faasolosolo lelei o meaola o le gataifale ina ia faaitiitia ai le tetee o le ea ma le faaaogaina o le malosi. O laupapa o le tino o le vaalele e faia i se fasi mea e tasi mai mea faafefiloi, ma o le fausaga i totonu e faaaogaina ai le carbon fiber mo le faaitiitia o le mamafa e 32 pasene. O se faiga tautau e tele matau ma vili sii i lalo e mafai ai ona ave se uta e 260 kilokalama i le maualuga e oo atu i le 6,000 mita ma i matagi e 12 mita i le sekone. E pulea mamao e tagata faafoe i luga o se vaa lagolago le helikopa, e taialaina e mea puei ata ma masini iloa i luga o le vaalele.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Ario

O le A' Design Award Ario na manumalo ai Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe, o se faamaoniga matuā mamalu e tuuina atu i mamanu sili ona lelei, matagofie ma mataʻutia. O ē manumalo i le Ario o galuega susulu tele ma fatufatuaʻi e faaalia ai le poto, le taleni ma le atamai o tagata mamanu. E faamoemoeina Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe e avea ma galuega matagofie, o se fesuiaiga mo isi, e iloga i le tomai faapolofesa ma mea fou loloto. O lenei mamanu na manumalo i le A' Design Award Ario o se mea e iloga, ua mataʻina e aogā ma tuleia atu tapulaʻa o le faatufugaga, saienisi, mamanu ma tekonolosi. Skybridge Helikopa e Leai se Tagata Faafoe o se mea e fiafia i ai le toatele, e fafagu ai manaʻoga, aumaia ai lagona lelei ma tupu ai le ofo.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Designed for cargo delivery to portless islands, this helicopter overcomes geographical barriers. Its biomechanically optimized airframe, multi-hook suspension, and intelligent undercarriage winches achieve a 260kg payload capacity—operating reliably at 6,000m altitude and 12m/s winds, redefining aerial logistics for extreme environments.
Dimensions & Packaging: with rotor: 3786X3600X1330mm
without rotor:2660X1054X950mm
Tags: Civil Drone, Product Design, Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Unmanned Helicopter, Maritime Transport
Production Technology: The manufacturing process integrates the modular assembly concept of the naval industry, and adopts composite materials to realize one-piece molding of the fuselage covering parts. The internal structure uses carbon fiber materials to achieve a 32% breakthrough in lightweight, which significantly improves the carrying efficiency. The streamlined aerodynamic design is modeled after marine life, which ensures the structural strength and effectively reduces the operational energy consumption.
Design Challenge: Balancing the societal need for efficient island resupply with minimizing environmental impact and complying with UAV regulations proved challenging. Developing a safe, reliable unmanned system with the required payload and capture capabilities required extensive research and design iterations.
Research: This design analyzes the efficient movement mechanism of marine organisms through bionic methods, focusing on the hydrodynamic curves and their energy transfer modes when fish swim. Combined with computational fluid dynamics simulation and 3D scanning modeling technology, the bio-evolutionary advantages of marine organisms, such as drag-reducing characteristics, are transformed into UAV engineering parameters.
Inspiration: This unmanned helicopter is designed for cargo transport from ships to portless islands. Maritime operational demands inspired its biomimetic approach, translating marine organisms' hydrodynamic efficiency into aerospace engineering. The streamlined fuselage curvature and rotor system synergy originate from analyzing oceanic lifeforms' drag-resistant structures.
Project Duration: The project started in January 2024 in Beijing and finished in February 2025 in Beijing.
Operation Flow: Operators on a support vessel remotely control the helicopter, using onboard cameras and sensors for real-time visual feedback. The operators identify and control helicopter to capture the cargo, providing a secure and damage-free delivery method compared to direct airdrops.
Team Members: Chen Xu
Wu Fangbo
Dr. Wang Lijing
Dr. Zhang Rong
Cai Tianyang
Zhang jun
Image Credits: Image #1: Creator sxdesign, 2025. Optional Image #1: Creator sxdesign, 2025. Optional Image #2: Creator sxdesign, 2025. Optional Image #3: Creator sxdesign, 2025. Optional Image #4: Creator sxdesign, 2025.