Patent Publication Number: US-2022219788-A1

Title: Transport vehicle with reduced drag

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 62/849,238, filed on May 17, 2019, and 62/843,208, filed on May 3, 2019, the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates generally to the field of transportation and, in particular, toward vehicles used in transportation with reduced drag capabilities. 
     SUMMARY 
     In fluid dynamics, drag is a force acting opposite to the relative motion of an object moving with respect to the surrounding fluid or gas. Drag can exist between two fluid layers (e.g., liquid or gas) or between a fluid and a solid surface of an object. To the extent that drag forces can be reduced for a vehicle moving through a fluid, the amount of force required to propel the vehicle through the fluid can be reduced. The reduction of drag forces almost always results in improved fuel efficiency or speed of travel for a vehicle. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is described in conjunction with the appended figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. 
         FIG. 1A  depicts a front view of a first vehicle; 
         FIG. 1B  depicts an isometric view of the first vehicle; 
         FIG. 2A  depicts an isometric view of a first vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2B  depicts the first vehicle with additional output ports according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3A  depicts additional details of the first vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3B  depicts a side view of the first vehicle depicted in  FIG. 3A ; 
         FIG. 4A  depicts a bottom isometric view of a second vehicle; 
         FIG. 4B  depicts a bottom isometric view of a second vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4C  depicts additional details of the second vehicle depicted in  FIG. 4B ; 
         FIG. 4D  depicts the second vehicle with additional output ports according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4E  depicts additional details of the second vehicle depicted in  FIG. 4D ; 
         FIG. 4F  depicts an alternative configuration of the second vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 4G  depicts a cross-sectional view of a vehicle body according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5A  depicts a side view of a third vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5B  depicts a side view of a third vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5C  depicts a simplified cross-sectional view of the third vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6A  depicts a side view of a fourth vehicle; 
         FIG. 6B  depicts a side view of the fourth vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6C  depicts a simplified cross-sectional view of the fourth vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6D  depicts additional details of the fourth vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6E  depicts additional details of the fourth vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7A  depicts additional details of the fourth vehicle according to embodiments of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 7B  is an exploded view of a portion of  FIG. 7A ; and 
         FIG. 8  depicts additional details of a wing in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The ensuing description provides embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability, or configuration of the claims. Rather, the ensuing description will provide those skilled in the art with an enabling description for implementing the described embodiments. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of elements without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in connection with illustrative vehicles, which may or may not be configured to carry passengers as cargo. As used herein, the term “vehicle” may include any solid object that travels through a fluid (e.g., gas or liquid). A vehicle may or may not require some amount of propulsion to travel through the fluid. A vehicle travelling through the fluid may displace the fluid. It should be appreciated that by displacing fluid during travel, the vehicle may experience one or more drag forces at points where the fluid contact a solid surface of the vehicle (or at points where the solid surface of the vehicle contacts the fluid). Embodiments of the present disclosure propose mechanisms for reducing drag-induced forces that are presented to the vehicle by outputting one or more fluids in a way that effectively breaks the fluid through which the vehicle is traveling. Said another way, and in accordance with embodiments described herein, the vehicle may be equipped with one or more mechanisms that cause fluid to be expelled in front of or across a solid surface of the vehicle (e.g., outward from a forward-travelling surface), thereby creating a fluidic barrier between the primary fluid in which the vehicle is traveling (which may also be referred to as the traveling medium) and the solid surface(s) of the vehicle. While drag forces may still exist between the traveling medium and the expelled fluid and also between the expelled fluid and the solid surface(s) of the vehicle, it should be appreciated that such drag forces are reduced as compared to the drag forces that would be experienced by the vehicle in the absence of an expelled fluid being provided in front of or across the solid surface(s) of the vehicle. 
     As will be described in further detail herein, a vehicle may include one or more of an aircraft, watercraft, and/or land-traveling vehicle. Examples of a land-traveling vehicle include, without limitation, a truck, semi-truck, train, road train, tractor, motorcycle, passenger car, Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), or the like. Examples of a water-traveling vehicle include a boat, a submarine, a freighter, a cruise ship, etc. Examples of an air-traveling vehicle include a plane, a rocket, a drone, etc. 
     Embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate the use of expelled fluid to not only reduce drag, but to also create an environment in front of a traveling vehicle where the traveling medium is disrupted prior to the solid surface of the vehicle impacting the traveling medium. This environment may further benefit travel of the vehicle because one or more vortices are moved away from the solid surface of the vehicle and could be considered to help propel the vehicle forward (in addition to other propulsion forces being applied to the vehicle). In other words, the utilization of an expelled fluid at the front of a vehicle may create an environment that is both propelling the vehicle and also exhibiting a reduced drag on the vehicle as compared to the vehicle impacting a still traveling medium. 
     With reference now to  FIGS. 1A-3B , a first illustrative vehicle  100  will be described in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The first illustrative vehicle  100  is shown as an aircraft, airplane, jet, or the like that is configured to travel through a traveling medium of gas (e.g., air, the earth&#39;s atmosphere, etc.). The vehicle  100  is shown to include a body  104 , a front end  108 , a tail  112 , and wings  116 . The vehicle  100  is also shown to include one or more propulsion units  120  that provide a driving force for the vehicle  100 . In particular, the vehicle  100  may correspond to a jet in which the propulsion units  120  are jet engines, which provide a jet-based driving force for the vehicle  100 . It should be appreciated that other types of propulsion units  120 , such as propellers or rocket engines, may be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. As propulsion forces are provided by the propulsion units  120 , the front end  108  of the vehicle  100  is forced into contact with the traveling medium (e.g., air). Likewise, the leading edges of the wings  116  and tail  112  are also forced into contact with the traveling medium. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 2A-3B , embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate providing one or more output ports  204  on the front end  108  of the vehicle  100  and/or on leading edges of the tail  112  and wings  116 . Alternatively or additionally, a leading edge of a propeller could be configured to include one or more output ports  204  without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. The propeller (or similar propulsion unit  120 ) could be provided at the front end  108  of the vehicle  100  and/or on the wings  116  of the vehicle  100 . 
     The output port(s)  204  may be configured as an opening, which may or may not have a controllable door provided at the entrance thereto, through which expelled fluid  208  can be provided. In some embodiments, the expelled fluid  208  is pushed out of the output port(s)  204  under a compression force, which may be provided by an air compressor that is housed internally within the body  104  of the vehicle  100 . The expelled fluid  208  may correspond to the same fluid as the traveling medium (e.g., air) or the expelled fluid  208  may correspond to a different type of fluid than the traveling medium. As a non-limiting example, the expelled fluid  208  may correspond to pure oxygen or compressed oxygen whereas the traveling medium corresponds to air. In some embodiments, the compressed oxygen may be provided by a compression tank that is maintained for purposes of providing compressed oxygen to the cabin in the body  104  of the vehicle  100 . Such compression tanks are already provided for purposes of allowing passengers of the vehicle  100  to breathe while the vehicle  100  is traveling at relatively high altitudes, which means that the already-existing compression tank can be dual-purposed to provide the expelled fluid  208  out of the one or more output ports  204 . Alternatively or additionally, some of the expelled fluid  208  may correspond to fluid that is recaptured toward a back of the vehicle. For instance, exhaust of the propulsion unit  120  may be recaptured and converted into expelled fluid  208  without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other discarded fluids or contained fluids could also be recaptured and used for expelled fluid  208  alone or in combination with other fluids. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , the expelled fluid  208  may initially be provided in the same direction as the direction of travel of the vehicle  100 . The expelled fluid  208 , once outside the output port  204 , may come into contact with the traveling medium, thereby causing the expelled fluid  208  to travel a fluid path  304  that surrounds or at least partially envelopes the solid surface of the vehicle  100 . The expelled fluid  208  traveling the fluid path  304  may create a fluidic barrier between the traveling medium and the solid surface(s) of the vehicle  100 , thereby reducing drag forces imparted on the vehicle  100 . 
     Providing the expelled fluid  208  in the direction of travel may seem counterintuitive because the ejection of the expelled fluid  208  may be seen as counteracting the forces produced by the propulsion unit  120 . However, the forces imparted by the expelled fluid  208  may be minimal as compared to the reduction in drag forces enabled by the expelled fluid  208  traveling the fluid path  304 . In other words, the reduction in frictional forces traveling may be larger than the amount of backward forces imparted on the vehicle  100  by the expelled fluid  208 . 
     In some embodiments, the expelled fluid  208  is output at a rate which is one or multiple orders of magnitude less than a mass flow rate produced by the propulsion units  120 . In some embodiments, the propulsion units  120  may be configured to operate at a mass flow rate of at least 1,300 kg/s where the output ports  204  may output the expelled fluid  208  at a mass flow rate of less than 1 kg/s or 10 kg/s. Thus, the mass flow rate produced at the output ports  204  will not be enough to substantially counteract or provide a backwards propulsion force as compared to the propulsion units  120 . However, the output ports  204  may still output enough expelled fluid  208  to effectively break or interrupt the traveling medium before the solid surface of the vehicle  100  impacts the traveling medium, which may be assumed to be substantially motionless with respect to the traveling vehicle  100 . 
     In some embodiments, it may be possible to utilize one or more output ports  204  in connection with modifying or adjusting the lift applied to the vehicle  100  as the vehicle  100  travels through the air. As a non-limiting example, expelled fluid  208  may change the air speed traveling across the top and/or bottom of a wing, thereby changing the lift profile of the wing. It may be possible to precisely control the volume of expelled fluid  208  and the output ports  204  from which the expelled fluid  208  is dispensed in an effort to change the lift applied to the wings  116 . It may also be possible to utilize the expelled fluid  208  to steer or change a direction of travel of the vehicle  100 . For instance, providing expelled fluid  208  on a left side of the vehicle  100  and not providing as much (or no) expelled fluid  208  on the right side of the vehicle  100  may cause the vehicle  100  to turn left (e.g., toward the side where more expelled fluid  208  is being dispensed). This can be used in addition to traditional rudders and other direction-control devices of a vehicle  100 . 
     With reference now to  FIGS. 4A-4G , another example of a vehicle  400  will be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The vehicle  400  is shown as a watercraft and, in particular, a shipping vessel, which may be configured for conveyance through a traveling medium of water. In the depicted embodiment, the vehicle  400  may include a body  404 , a front end  408 , and a propulsion unit  412 . Although the vehicle  400  is depicted in  FIGS. 4A-4E  as a shipping vessel, it should be appreciated that the vehicle  400  may assume other formats such as shown in  FIG. 4F . Indeed, any type of conveyance having a hull or the like may be considered a vehicle  400  without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     The vehicle  400  is also shown to include one or more output ports  416  through which an expelled fluid  420  can be output. The expelled fluid  420  may be provided as a gas or liquid without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the number and placement of the various output ports  416  along the hull of the vehicle  400  may depend upon the hydrodynamic properties of the hull and which portions of the hull are considered to experience the most drag during operation. In some embodiments, as shown in  FIGS. 4B-4E , the output ports  416  may be provided in an array across the bottom of the hull. As shown in  FIG. 4F , one or more output ports  416  may be provided at a front end of the hull so as to provide the expelled fluid  420  across the solid surface of the vehicle  400  that would otherwise impact the traveling medium (e.g., water). In some embodiments, the expelled fluid  420  may be output at a volumetric rate that is substantially less than an amount of fluid displaced by the propulsion unit  412 . As an example, the expelled fluid  420  may be output at a rate that is 10, 100, or 1000 times less than the rate at which fluid displaced by the propulsion unit  412 . While the output rate of the expelled fluid  420  may not be significant enough to provide a substantial backwards force on the vehicle  400 , the expelled fluid  420  may create a barrier between the solid surface of the vehicle  400  and the traveling medium, thereby breaking the inertial forces that would otherwise occur between the solid surface of the vehicle and the traveling medium. 
     As can be seen in  FIG. 4G , the manner in which expelled fluid  420  is delivered to the various output ports  416  may vary depending upon the design of the vehicle  400  and the vehicle&#39;s  400  hull. In some embodiments, the body  404  or hull of the vehicle  400  may include an inner portion  428  and an outer portion  424  that are separated by a fluidic cavity  436  and a plurality of spacers  432 . The plurality of spacers  432  may correspond to solid rods or disks that provide a predetermined spacing distance between the inner portion  428  of the hull and the outer portion  424  of the hull. The gap created between the inner portion  428  and outer portion  424  may correspond to a cavity that receives and stores fluid that is eventually output via the output ports  416 . 
     In some embodiments, the fluidic cavity  436  may have the fluid therein compressed to a pressure that is greater than the pressure existing at the outside of the outer portion  424 . The fluid within the fluidic cavity  436  may be compressed with a compressor  444  (or pump/hydraulic pump) under control of a fluid output controller  440 . Thus, as the vehicle  400  is traveling and the hull is submerged in the traveling medium, at least some traveling medium may enter the fluidic cavity  436 . The fluidic cavity  436  may be substantially sealed from the inside of the hull such that the compressor  444  is able to impart an increased pressure into the fluidic cavity  436 . The amount of pressure provided by the compressor  444  may be controlled by the fluid output controller  440  and may be based upon a desired flow rate of expelled fluid  420 . Alternatively or additionally, one or more output ports  416  may be provided with a movable port door  448  that is capable of being actuated or controlled by the fluid output controller  440  in such a way that certain of the output ports  416  are used to release expelled fluid  420  from the fluidic cavity  436  at a certain point in time whereas others of the output ports  416  have their corresponding movable port door  448  closed, thereby not allowing expelled fluid  420  to exit via that output port  416 . Thus, the fluid output controller  440  may be provided with logic and communication capabilities to control the operation of the movable port door(s)  448  in addition to or in lieu of controlling operation of the compressor  444 . Alternatively or additionally, the controller  440  could be configured to control operation of one or more flow valves that sit between a fluid container and the output ports  416 . In this way, the fluid output controller  440  may adjust the behavior of the output ports  416  and/or the rate at which expelled fluid  420  is discharged from the output ports  416 . This control may be achieved mechanically, via control of fluid control valves, and/or via pressurization of the fluidic cavity  436 . 
     In other embodiments, rather than relying upon an improved hull design, the vehicle  400  may be provided with a simple compressed fluid tank and one or more hoses and fluid couplings may be connected between the compressed fluid tank and the output ports  416 . In such a configuration, the fluid output controller  440  may control the amount of fluid provided to any one individual output port  416  from the compressed fluid tank, thereby controlling the flow rate of the expelled fluid  420 . 
     It should be appreciated that the placement and/or design of the output ports  416  may vary depending upon the shape of the vehicle  400  and the desired dynamic properties of the output ports  416 . In some embodiments, the shape/size of the output ports  416  may be relatively simple (e.g., circular shaped holes with or without one or more adjustable covers that slide directly over the hole, but are otherwise substantially flush with the outer portion  424  of the hull) or more complex (e.g., non-circular shaped openings with a movable port door  448  that moves along a hinge rather than sliding over the opening). Alternative configurations of output ports  416  and port doors  448  may also be used without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     As can be seen in  FIGS. 5A-5C , the vehicle  500  may alternatively be provided as a fully-submersible vehicle  500 . The vehicle  500  may still include a body  504 , a front end  508 , and a propulsion unit  512 , similar to vehicle  400 ; however, the vehicle  500  may be configured for complete submersion in a traveling medium (e.g., water). This particular design of a vehicle  500  may include one or more output ports  516  at the front end  508  that discharge expelled fluid  520 . Again, the expelled fluid  520  may be provided by an internal fluid tank that is maintained in the body  504  and that compresses the fluid to a pressure greater than the pressure existing at the outside of the body  504 . Because the vehicle  500  is capable of diving to various depths, the compressor used to compress the fluid that is eventually provided as the expelled fluid  520  may be configured to dynamically adjust the pressure with which the expelled fluid  520  is compressed. In some embodiments, the compression provided to the expelled fluid  520  should be adjustable based on the dive depth of the vehicle  500 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 5C , the expelled fluid  520  may travel along a fluid path  524  that substantially envelopes or wraps around the front end  508  of the vehicle  500 . The fluid path  524  travelled by the expelled fluid  520  may cause the traveling medium that is substantially still relative to the traveling vehicle  500  to be broken or broken prior to impacting the solid surface of the vehicle  500 . This effectively helps reduce drag forces presented to the vehicle  500 , thereby reducing the amount of fuel required to drive the propulsion unit(s)  512 . Although the vehicle  500  is shown as having four ( 4 ) output ports  516 , it should be appreciated that the vehicle  500  may have a greater or lesser number of output ports  516  without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the shape and placement of the output ports  516  may vary depending upon the shape of the body  504  and/or front end  508 . 
     It should be appreciated that the vehicles  400 ,  500  (or any other vehicle depicted and described herein) may utilize expelled fluid as a propulsion mechanism in lieu of or in addition to utilize the expelled fluid to create a barrier between the solid surface(s) of the vehicle and the traveling medium. For instance, with respect to a ship&#39;s hull, the expelled fluid could be leveraged to reduce drag as described herein in addition to or in lieu of providing a separate propulsion system. The expelled fluid may also be used to control steering of the vehicle without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. 
     With reference now to  FIGS. 6A-6E , additional details of another vehicle  600  will be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present disclosure. The vehicle  600  corresponds to another example of an object configured to travel through air as a traveling medium. The vehicle  600  is shown to include a body  604 , a front end  608 , and a propulsion unit  612 . Furthermore, like other vehicles depicted and described herein, the vehicle  600  may be configured with one or more output ports  616  through which an expelled fluid  620  can be dispensed. Specifically, in some embodiments, the expelled fluid  620  may be dispensed while the vehicle  600  is in motion through a traveling medium. 
     The rate at which expelled fluid  620  is dispensed may be controlled by a controller  644  that is integrated into the body  604  of the vehicle  600 . The controller  644 , as with other controllers depicted and described herein, may be configured to control an amount and/or rate with which fluid is dispensed from a fluid container  640  via a control line  648 . In some embodiments, the fluid container  640  may be filled with a fluid prior to departure of the vehicle and once the entirety of the fluid is dispensed as expelled fluid  620 , then no more fluid may be dispensed (e.g., because the fluid container  640  is empty). In other embodiments, motion of the vehicle  600  may cause the fluid container  640  to be refilled with surrounding fluid (e.g., fluid recaptured from motion of the vehicle  600  through the traveling medium). In such a situation, the controller  644  may also control a compressor or pump that causes a pressure within the fluid container  640  to be increased and enables the expelled fluid  620  to release from the output port  616  at a controlled rate. 
       FIG. 6C  shows additional details of the fluid path  624  that may be travelled by the expelled fluid  620 . In particular, the expelled fluid  620  may travel a fluid path  624  that includes a first interaction area  628  and a second interaction area  636  in addition to the main channel of the fluid path  624 . The main channel of the fluid path  624  may correspond to the volume of expelled fluid that travels between the first interaction area  628  and the second interaction area  636 . In some embodiments, the first interaction area  628  may correspond to a surface area with which the expelled fluid  620  interacts with the body surface  632  of the vehicle  600 , which may correspond to a solid surface. This first interaction area  628  may create a first drag force that is imparted on the vehicle  600  traveling through the traveling medium (e.g., the atmosphere). The second interaction area  632  may correspond to a surface area with which the expelled fluid  620  interacts with the traveling medium. It is this second interaction area  636  that enables the expelled fluid  620  to break the inertia of the traveling medium before the solid body surface  632  comes into contact with the traveling medium. There may also be drag forces present at the second interaction area  636  between the expelled fluid  620  and the traveling medium. The sum of the drag forces at the first interaction area  628  and second interaction area  636  may be less (and possibly substantially less (e.g., up to 25% or more) than the drag forces that would otherwise be exerted on the body surface  632  in the absence of the expelled fluid  620  being dispensed from the output port  616 . Again, the backward force exerted on the vehicle  600  due to the dispensing of the expelled fluid  620  from the output port  616  may be nominal or negligible as compared to the reduced drag forces. Overall, the utilization of the expelled fluid  620  may help to reduce the overall drag forces presented to the vehicle  600  traveling through the traveling medium. 
     In some embodiments, the controller  644  may be provided with logic that is capable of determining an altitude, speed, acceleration, or other ballistic property of the vehicle  600  and, in response thereto, may adjust the amount or rate with which the expelled fluid  620  is dispensed from the output port  616 . The controller  644  may also be configured to discontinue dispensing fluid from the fluid container  640  under predetermined conditions (e.g., during initial takeoff or after the vehicle  600  has reached a predetermined altitude or is out of the atmosphere). 
     As can be seen in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , the vehicle  600  may be provided with one or more output ports  516  that are positioned at the front end  608  of the vehicle  600 , but are provided with an orientation that is substantially perpendicular to the direction of travel of the vehicle  600 . In some embodiments, the output ports  516  may be provided in an array around the front end  608  such that a plurality of output ports  516  can provide expelled fluid  520  in multiple directions that are orthogonal to the direction of travel. As can be seen in detail of  FIG. 7B , a pair of output ports  516  may be provided in directly opposite facing orientations such that any amount of expelled fluid  520  provided out of one output port  516  is substantially matched with an equal amount of expelled fluid  520  (e.g., equal in volume and flow rate) so as to counteract any orthogonal forces exerted on the vehicle  600 . In other words, the pair of output ports  516  may be configured to output expelled fluid  520  at substantially the same time, at substantially the same rate, at substantially the same pressure, and at substantially the same volume so that the net forces exerted in the opposite direction of the pair of ports  516  are cancelled out. In some embodiments, the pair of ports  516  may be provided with a first orientation (e.g., vertically facing upwards) and a second, opposite, orientation (e.g., vertically facing downwards). Additional or other pairs of ports  516  may also be provided (e.g., facing outward on the port and starboard sides of the vehicle) so as to enable the expelled fluid  520  to be provided outward to the left and right of the vehicle  600 . 
     In some embodiments, the front end  608  of the vehicle  600  may be provided with just two output ports  516  (e.g., one facing in one direction that is orthogonal to the direction of travel and another facing opposite to the first output port). Alternatively, the vehicle  600  may be provided with two, three, four, or more pairs of output ports  516  facing in many different directions, where each pair of output ports  516  are configured to output the expelled fluid  520 , but in a way that no substantial steering forces are imparted on the vehicle  600  (unless the fluid  520  is desired to provide some steering forces). If steering is desired by using the expelled fluid  520 , then it may be possible to, in a controlled manner, provide more expelled fluid  520  from one of the output ports  516  than the other of the output ports  516  that is facing in the opposite direction. This may result in a lateral force being exerted on the vehicle  600 , but the amount of force exerted may depend upon the amount of expelled fluid  520 , its flow rate, etc. 
     It should be appreciated that by using the output ports  516  as shown in  FIGS. 7A and 7B , it may be possible to achieve the benefits associated with breaking the drag forces that could be exerted on the vehicle  600  by the traveling medium, but without providing a backwards force due to the expelled fluid  520  being expelled directly in the direction of travel. In some embodiments, it may be possible to configure the output ports  516  to control a direction and amount of expelled fluid  520 . Thus, a single output port  516  may be configured to adjust a direction with which expelled fluid  520  is discharged (e.g., change between a direction of flow that has some component in the direction of travel and some component that is orthogonal to the direction of travel). With this type of output port  516 , additional steering capabilities can be realized for the vehicle  600  in addition to helping reduce the drag imparted on the vehicle traveling through the traveling medium. 
       FIG. 8  depicts a similar concept, but for a wing  116  as opposed to the vehicle  600  depicted in  FIGS. 7A and 7B . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the wing  116  may be provided with a plurality of output ports  204  across the cross-section of the airfoil. The output ports  204  may be provided in vertical pairs such that fluid expelled  208  from one output port  204  is counteracted by expelled fluid  208  from the other output ports  204  in the pair. Again, providing the output ports  204  in pairs may enable the airfoil to experience a decreased drag during travel through air, but without imparting unwanted upward or downward force on the wing  116 . However, as discussed above, it may be possible to precisely control aspects of lift on the wing  116  by providing more expelled fluid  204  from one output port  204  than the other, oppositely-oriented, output port  204 . 
       FIG. 8  also shows that the wing  116  may be fitted with one or more forward-facing nozzles  804  that are provided with one or more output ports  204  thereon. This nozzle  804  may have a similar configuration to the needles or nozzles shown in other vehicles (e.g., vehicle  600 ). For instance, the output ports  204  provided on the forward-facing nozzle  804  may be configured to dispense the expelled fluid  208  outward from the circumference of the nozzle  804  in a direction that at least has some component that is orthogonal to the direction of travel. Again, the output ports  204  provided on the nozzle  804  may be provided in one or more pairs to help maintain symmetry. 
     It should be appreciated that while pairs of output ports have been described herein, that similar functional goals can be achieved by an odd number of output ports that are symmetrically distributed around an object (e.g., wing  116 , nozzle  804 , etc.). The set of output ports (e.g., where the number of output ports is not necessarily even) may be configured to collectively cancel out each other&#39;s lateral forces, thereby providing a drag reducing function without necessarily impacting the direction of travel or lateral forces imparted on the vehicle. Of course, the expelled fluid  208  from the various output ports in the set of output ports could be controlled to not cancel out, but rather impart steering forces on the vehicle. 
     In some embodiments, the nozzle  804  may comprise a shared volume from which expelled fluid  208  is provided to both of the output ports  204 . In other words, each output port  204  in the set of output ports on the nozzle  804  may receive their fluid from a common source, thereby helping to manage or control the amount/volume/rate with which the expelled fluid  208  is dispensed from each of the output ports  204 . 
     Specific details were given in the description to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, it will be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. Additionally, the Figures do not depict well-known features that may be needed to create a working vehicle so as not to obscure the embodiments in unnecessary detail.