During the fall 2001 semester, students in Industrial Design and Interior Architecture worked with professional designers, engineers and corporate executives in a Helicopter Studio offered in conjunction with Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation. The 12-week semester was divided into two segments, the first involving the use of unmanned aerial vehicles — in essence, flying robots — as part of a rapid delivery system for high priority packages. Funded by the NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts, this segment of the studio focused on the future of package transportation and delivery by looking at the Vertical Take Off and Landing/Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTOL/UAV).

Starting with an outline of the project from Sikorsky, students worked in groups of three to resolve a number of issues associated with this system. The goal: to create a VTOL vehicle for the unmanned delivery of packages. One team of RISD students looked to the dynamics of swarming insect colonies — with their unique system of non-linear division of labor — for their solution and proposed a craft that is as small as possible while still being able to carry cargo.

In the second half of the semester, students worked individually on designs for either the interior of Sikorsky’s latest helicopter, the S-92, or the exterior of a proposed heavy-lift cargo helicopter. The process began with a research phase in which small groups working on related projects collaborated to share findings as well as initial inspiration and direction. Each individual then developed multiple concepts, but with early feedback from Sikorsky personnel and other students, was able to zero in on a specific idea that deserved further resolution.

In both projects, students had to balance the conceptual aspects of helicopter design with the realities of aircraft engineering, which involves issues such as ergonomics, weight, crashworthiness and the Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Standards for helicopter design. “Having fresh eyes look at problems that we have been looking at for years” proved to be a great boon for Sikorsky, says Ben Lehberger, the company's liaison for the project.