Geo-fencing to secure airport perimeter against sUAS

Purpose Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are becoming increasingly popular among hobbyists, and with this popularity there comes the risk of runway incursion between a commercial aircraft and sUAS around airports. To keep airports safe and secure, the purpose of this paper is to propose a module, called the Airport Secure Perimeter Control System, that can be attached to every hobbyist’s sUAS for the purpose of notification and prevention. Design/methodology/approach Upon startup, the module connects to a database containing the central coordinates of every airport in the USA. A five-mile critical radius plus an additional one-mile buffer region is established around each point. The buffer region is created in order to inform the user that he/she is approaching a safe airspace and needs to take corrective action. Once the five-mile zone has been breached, autopilot software takes over the manual controls, and the sUAS is landed in a controlled manner, while the user still has lateral control of the vehicle in order to avoid any potential hazards below it. Then, both operator and airport receive messages about the event. Findings To demonstrate the proposed design, a prototype was developed that successfully implemented this system, and was formally tested within a controlled environment. Originality/value This solution would drastically reduce the security threat of sUAS breaching the critical regions surrounding airports, and its implementation is relatively simple.

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Evaluation of design criteria for mini unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) applications

Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology ◽

10.1108/aeat-03-2021-0089 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Ramesh P.S. ◽

Muruga Lal Jeyan J.V.

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aircraft ◽

Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽

Design Criteria ◽

Content Type ◽

Area Of Interest ◽

Military Applications ◽

Network Centric Operations ◽

Aircraft System ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Critical Aspects

Purpose This paper aims to evaluate the factors that dictate the design of a mini unmanned aircraft system (UAS). Design/methodology/approach This paper analyses various dimensions that dictate the design criteria for a mini UAS. Findings Compared to civil applications, design of mini UAS for military application is much more challenging owing to combat restrictions. Topics related to civil applications dominate research in the field of mini UAS, with over 60% of the papers accounting for civil applications. Limited published articles related to military applications are available. While 86% of the in-production mini UAS is primarily meant for military applications, only 9% of the research is devoted to military applications of mini UAS. Most mini UAS, although designed primarily for military applications, are also extensively used for various civil applications. Critical aspects that influence the employment of mini UAS in the tactical battlespace are area of interest, type of operation, type of operational tasks, terrain and network-centric operations. All these factors collectively impact the design of a mini UAS. Practical implications According to various studies, mini UAS is the fastest growing segment amongst all classes of UAS. This paper will provide vital inputs to the designers and manufacturers of mini UAS for both military and civil applications. Social implications Mini UAS are in the list of “must-have” for modern militaries across the world and is also growing exponentially in the civil domain. Therefore, it is important to understand the critical factors that dictate the design of mini UAS. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, such an analysis is not available in the open domain.

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Terrain imperatives for Mini unmanned aircraft systems applications

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems ◽

10.1108/ijius-09-2020-0044 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

P.S. Ramesh ◽

J.V. Muruga Lal Jeyan

Keyword(s):

Unmanned Aircraft ◽

Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽

Target Area ◽

Content Type ◽

Mountain Terrain ◽

Close Proximity ◽

Military Applications ◽

Aircraft System ◽

The Impact ◽

Rotary Wing

PurposeAmongst all classes of unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the rise of the Mini UAS class is the most dominant. Mini UASs are field-deployable systems and hence are not expected to operate from a runway. Therefore, the operating terrain plays an important role in the deployment and employment of the Mini UAS. However, there is limited published work in this area. The impact of terrain is more critical for military applications than civilian applications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of various types of terrain on the employment and deployment of Mini UAS.Design/methodology/approachThis paper explores the implications of various types of terrain on the employment and deployment of Mini UAS.FindingsMini UAS with field deployable requirements is often launched within the tactical battle area in case of military applications or in close proximity to the intended target area for civilian applications. Due to the size and weight of the Mini UAS, launch and recovery becomes an important factor to be considered. Rotary wing or fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing configuration UAS overcomes the limitations of Mini UAS and hence it is the preferred option. Impact of the terrain is significantly higher for military applications as compared to civil applications. Mountain terrain is the most challenging for Mini UAS operations.Practical implicationsThis paper will help the designers configure the UAS as per the operating terrain.Originality/valueTerrain affects the deployment and employment of Mini UAS and the capabilities of the system with respect to terrain in which it is expected to operate must be considered during the design of a Mini UAS. The paper will help the designers configure the UAS as per the operating terrain.

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O.R.C.U.S. risk assessment tool for operations of light UAS above Germany

International Journal of Intelligent Unmanned Systems ◽

10.1108/ijius-08-2016-0006 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

pp. 2-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Oliver Hirling ◽

Florian Holzapfel

Keyword(s):

Risk Assessment ◽

Assessment Tool ◽

Unmanned Aircraft ◽

Unmanned Aircraft Systems ◽

Analysis Tool ◽

Content Type ◽

Aircraft Systems ◽

Flight Operations ◽

Increase Risk ◽

First Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA’s) Prototype Regulation on Unmanned Aircraft Operation and introduce the tool Operational Risk Considerations for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (O.R.C.U.S.). In contrast to existing airworthiness regulations for civil manned aircraft, EASA’s approach is focussed on flight operations and not aircraft, a significant change for the domain of civil airworthiness. Design/methodology/approach O.R.C.U.S. is a software risk analysis tool developed by the corresponding author. It encompasses all relevant factors for flight operations of light Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) above populated areas in Germany. The tool generates predictions of possible fatalities in the event of a light Unmanned Aircraft crash through the use of validated statistics and considering the time and location of a mission. An example mission, including a discussion of the results, is provided to demonstrate and discuss the capabilities of O.R.C.U.S. Findings EASA’s Prototype Regulation on Unmanned Aircraft Operation makes a sound risk assessment of UAS flight operations indispensable. O.R.C.U.S. is able to increase risk awareness for operators and airworthiness authorities even if only less to none information about the UAS is available, supporting the possible approval of such an operation. Originality/value In this paper, O.R.C.U.S. is presented for the first time. O.R.C.U.S. can provide risk estimations for UAS operations in Germany, even if only minimum information about the UAS is available. In contrast to other tools, O.R.C.U.S. offers a unique risk prediction by combining aspects of the flying Unmanned Aircraft as well as the overflown area.

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