Risk assessment in mission planning of uninhabited aerial vehicles

2019 ◽  
Vol 233 (10) ◽  
pp. 3499-3518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulio Avanzini ◽  
David S Martínez
Keyword(s):  
Initial Conditions ◽  
Mission Planning ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Steady State Condition ◽  
Motion Primitives ◽  
Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Aerial Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Navigation Errors ◽  
Time Of Failure

A procedure for evaluating the risk related to the use of unmanned aerial systems over populated areas is proposed. A nominal trajectory, planned for performing a given mission, is represented by means of motion primitives, that is segments and arcs flown in a steady-state condition. The risk of hitting a person on the ground after catastrophic failure is evaluated as a function of vehicle reliability and population density (assumed known), and position of the impact point (which depends on initial conditions at the time of failure and trajectory flown afterwards). In the deterministic case, a lethal area is introduced and the risk at each point on the ground is proportional to the amount of time spent by the point inside the lethal area. Under the assumptions of a ballistic fall, the position of the lethal area with respect to the nominal trajectory depends only on altitude and velocity at the time of failure. When the effect of navigation errors is introduced, impact points are described by a statistical impact footprint, assuming that position and velocity errors at time of failure are normally distributed with known standard deviations. The two approaches are compared for a fictitious, yet realistic, mission scenario.

scholarly journals Unmanned Aerial Systems for Investigating the Polar Atmospheric Boundary Layer—Technical Challenges and Examples of Applications

Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Lampert ◽  
Barbara Altstädter ◽  
Konrad Bärfuss ◽  
Lutz Bretschneider ◽  
Jesper Sandgaard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Low Temperatures ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Aerial Systems ◽  
The Impact

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) fill a gap in high-resolution observations of meteorological parameters on small scales in the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL). Especially in the remote polar areas, there is a strong need for such detailed observations with different research foci. In this study, three systems are presented which have been adapted to the particular needs for operating in harsh polar environments: The fixed-wing aircraft M 2 AV with a mass of 6 kg, the quadrocopter ALICE with a mass of 19 kg, and the fixed-wing aircraft ALADINA with a mass of almost 25 kg. For all three systems, their particular modifications for polar operations are documented, in particular the insulation and heating requirements for low temperatures. Each system has completed meteorological observations under challenging conditions, including take-off and landing on the ice surface, low temperatures (down to −28 ∘ C), icing, and, for the quadrocopter, under the impact of the rotor downwash. The influence on the measured parameters is addressed here in the form of numerical simulations and spectral data analysis. Furthermore, results from several case studies are discussed: With the M 2 AV, low-level flights above leads in Antarctic sea ice were performed to study the impact of areas of open water within ice surfaces on the ABL, and a comparison with simulations was performed. ALICE was used to study the small-scale structure and short-term variability of the ABL during a cruise of RV Polarstern to the 79 ∘ N glacier in Greenland. With ALADINA, aerosol measurements of different size classes were performed in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in highly complex terrain. In particular, very small, freshly formed particles are difficult to monitor and require the active control of temperature inside the instruments. The main aim of the article is to demonstrate the potential of UAS for ABL studies in polar environments, and to provide practical advice for future research activities with similar systems.

scholarly journals Application of a Small Unmanned Aerial System to Measure Ammonia Emissions from a Pilot Amine-CO2 Capture System

Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (23) ◽  
pp. 6974
Author(s):  
Travis J. Schuyler ◽  
Bradley Irvin ◽  
Keemia Abad ◽  
Jesse G. Thompson ◽  
Kunlei Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Pilot Scale ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Emission Measurement ◽  
Atmospheric Gases ◽  
Emission Data ◽  
Emission Sampling ◽  
Comparison Of The Results ◽  
Aerial Systems ◽  
The Impact

The quantification of atmospheric gases with small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) is expanding the ability to safely perform environmental monitoring tasks and quickly evaluate the impact of technologies. In this work, a calibrated sUAS is used to quantify the emissions of ammonia (NH3) gas from the exit stack a 0.1 MWth pilot-scale carbon capture system (CCS) employing a 5 M monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent to scrub CO2 from coal combustion flue gas. A comparison of the results using the sUAS against the ion chromatography technique with the EPA CTM-027 method for the standard emission sampling of NH3 shows good agreement. Therefore, the work demonstrates the usefulness of sUAS as an alternative method of emission measurement, supporting its application in lieu of traditional sampling techniques to collect real time emission data.

Improvement in the model of cooperative aerial reconnaissance used in the tactical decision support system

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Stodola
Keyword(s):  
Decision Support ◽  
Decision Support System ◽  
Support System ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Area Of Interest ◽  
Aerial Reconnaissance ◽  
Tactical Decision ◽  
High Level ◽  
Aerial Systems ◽  
The Impact

This paper deals with the model of cooperative aerial reconnaissance. The goal of this high-level model is to explore the area of interest by a fleet of unmanned aerial systems optimally, which is (mostly) as fast as possible. The model has been implemented into the tactical decision support system to support commanders of the army of the Czech Republic in their decision making. The current paper does not present the model itself, but it enhances the original model by inserting a new parameter which is called angle delay coefficient. In the first part of the paper, the impact of the new parameter on the task of aerial reconnaissance is discussed. A series of experiments were proposed and conducted to verify the influence of the coefficient. The second part of the paper further improves the model by smoothing the routes of individual aerial systems; a new set of parameters are introduced.

scholarly journals Design and Development Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Software

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 2105-2108
Keyword(s):  
Autonomous Navigation ◽  
Application Programming Interface ◽  
Detection Algorithm ◽  
Mission Planning ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Localization And Mapping ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Human Operators ◽  
Emergency Scenarios ◽  
Aerial Systems

Unmanned aerial vehicles are the cutting edge technology which is used in various arduous applications and emergency scenarios. But human operators find it burdensome and experience a lot of physical and mental stress while operating the aerial systems in critical and emergency scenarios such as rescue operations, mine inspection, and surveillance. Our proposed idea is to provide the autonomous capability and features to these automatons by developing a mission-planning application that can autonomously guide UAV operations even in GPS denied environments by implementing SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping). With autonomous capability, aerial systems can help to plummet the stress on human operators or may even perform the process or mission efficiently without human intervention in numerous applications. Applications involving autonomous unmanned aerial systems have increased in recent times and are being applied in a wide range of fields such as infrastructure, transport, agriculture, mining, media, and transport. This paper covers the working of the autonomous navigation algorithm, artificially intelligent object detection algorithm and the mission planning API (Application Programming Interface).

LIGHTER-THAN-AIR (LTA) UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM (UAS) CARRIER CONCEPT FOR SURVAILLANCE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1255
Author(s):  
Ahmad Salahuddin Mohd Harithuddin ◽  
Mohd Fazri Sedan ◽  
Syaril Azrad Md Ali ◽  
Shattri Mansor ◽  
Hamid Reza Jifroudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Unmanned Aerial Systems ◽  
Unmanned Aerial System ◽  
Border Control ◽  
Aerial Vehicles ◽  
Operational Safety ◽  
In Situ Methods ◽  
Aerial Systems

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) has many advantages in the fields of SURVAILLANCE and disaster management compared to space-borne observation, manned missions and in situ methods. The reasons include cost effectiveness, operational safety, and mission efficiency. This has in turn underlined the importance of UAS technology and highlighted a growing need in a more robust and efficient unmanned aerial vehicles to serve specific needs in SURVAILLANCE and disaster management. This paper first gives an overview on the framework for SURVAILLANCE particularly in applications of border control and disaster management and lists several phases of SURVAILLANCE and service descriptions. Based on this overview and SURVAILLANCE phases descriptions, we show the areas and services in which UAS can have significant advantage over traditional methods.

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