Up and Soaring - UAS

Lockheed Martin, Project Lifesaver Int’l partner to locate missing persons with Indago quad rotor

To augment humanitarian search and rescue efforts, Lockheed Martin is teaming with Project Lifesaver Int’l. to bring advanced technology to first response agencies. The Indago small unmanned aerial system (UAS) will be integrated with a lightweight antenna and receiver developed by Loen Engineering Inc. The system allows Project Lifesaver agencies and first responders to rapidly locate special needs individuals who have wandered from their homes.

“Using the Project Lifesaver location device with aviation assets will extend search areas from approximately 1.5 miles to well over seven miles,” says Gene Saunders, CEO and founder of Project Lifesaver Int’l. “It offers an affordable alternative to manned aviation assets and can be used by any first responder agency.”

The 5 lb, collapsible Indago system can be stored in the trunk of a squad car and deployed within minutes.

Coupling the Project Lifesaver antenna and control elements with the Indago system expands signal detectability, serves as an airborne relay, and improves the probability of location success across broad search areas. www.lockheedmartin.com; www.loenengineering.com; www.projectlifesaver.org

Triton UAS conducts first flight with search radar

The Navy’s MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial system (UAS) equipped with a new search radar completed its inaugural flight April 18, 2015, over Patuxent River air space.

The radar, known as the multi-function active sensor (MFAS), is expected to enhance maritime domain awareness by providing the MQ-4C with a 360° view of a large geographic area while providing all-weather coverage for detecting, classifying, tracking, and identifying points of interest.

During this initial test event, MFAS exercised its primary operating mode, known as Maritime Surface Surveillance (MSS). The MSS mode provides continuous watch over a broad area.

Along with the MFAS radar, the MQ-4C will carry an electro-optical/infrared sensor that will provide still imagery and full-motion video of potential threats; an electronic support measures package to identify and geolocate radar threat signals; and an automatic identification system (AIS) that will detect and track vessels equipped with AIS responders. www.navair.navy.mil

Oregon State expands unmanned vehicle program

The Autonomous Systems Research Group at Oregon State University (OSU) is expanding its activities with unmanned vehicles, including development of a local test field and a range of training and certification programs.

The initiative is part of OSU’s efforts to become both a state and national leader in the evolution of these new technologies, working in partnership with private industry and government agencies. The technologies being developed will have applications in agriculture, forestry, and environmental sciences, all traditional areas of strength for OSU.

OSU recently partnered with an Oregon economic development organization, SOAR Oregon, to promote commercial applications of unmanned aircraft systems in the state.

OSU is a participant in the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex, one of six FAA-approved test ranges designed to explore unmanned aerial systems use, safety, certification, technological development, and environmental and human factors. www.oregonstate.edu

Unmanned K-MAX helicopter conducts casualty evacuation

Lockheed Martin, Kaman Aerospace, and robotics company Neya Systems have demonstrated the first collaborative unmanned air and ground casualty evacuation using the unmanned aerial system (UAS) Control Segment (UCS) architecture and K-MAX cargo helicopter.

During the demonstration, a distress call led ground operators to send an unmanned ground vehicle to assess the area and injured party. The ground operators used control stations that communicated with one another using the UAS control segment architecture.

Upon successful identification, the ground operators requested airlift by unmanned K-MAX of one individual who was injured. From the ground, the K-MAX operators used a tablet to determine the precise location and a safe landing area to provide assistance to the team. The injured team member was strapped into a seat on the side of the unmanned K-MAX, which then flew the individual to safety.

“This application of the unmanned K-MAX enables day or night transport of wounded personnel to safety without endangering additional lives,” says Jay McConville, director of business development for Unmanned Integrated Solutions at Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training. “The UCS architecture allows rapid integration of new applications across industry to increase the safety of operations, such as casualty evacuation, where lives are at stake.” www.neyasystems.com; www.lockheedmartin.com; www.kaman.com/aerospace

Aeryon’s small UAS support Nepali earthquake relief

In response to the April 25, 2015, 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Nepal, Canadian manufacturer Aeryon Labs Inc. has deployed three of its small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and a qualified Aeryon pilot to the affected region. Aeryon is collaborating with partners GlobalMedic and Monadrone to provide aerial support to international disaster relief teams on the ground.

The sUAS enable ground-based rescue teams to collect critical visual intelligence and deploy rescue resources quickly, carefully, and exactly where they are most needed.

The Aeryon sUAS in Nepal are equipped with thermal cameras to help locate survivors by detecting body heat, as well as the company’s HDZoom30 imaging payload, which can zoom in to recognize a face from more than 1,000ft (300m) away. The team will also undertake aerial mapping of the affected areas, building 2D and 3D maps, so that further response efforts can be planned. www.globalmedic.ca; www.aeryon.com; www.monadrone.com

Wichita State, Kansas State partner on unmanned aerial systems studies

Two Kansas universities are working together with the FAA to minimize the risk associated with the operation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operating in the National Airspace System.

Recently, Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) and the Kansas State University – Applied Aviation Research Center on the Salina campus (K-State Salina) conducted radiated susceptibility testing on a gasoline-powered, fixed-wing aircraft weighing 50 lb with an 11ft wingspan in a reverberation chamber at NIAR.

The testing was to determine whether the aircraft’s electronic systems would operate as intended when exposed to radio frequencies such as those emitted from broadcasting antennas and radio stations.

The tests are part of a larger effort by K-State Salina to validate the ASTM F38 Committee’s standards for small unmanned aircraft systems.

“It will help us determine where the standard is overly restrictive and where there are gaps. The goal is to have a useful set of standards that benefits the UAS industry,” says Tom Aldag, director of R&D for NIAR.

Wichita State is supporting K-State Salina in researching the environmental effects on UAS, especially in the areas of electromagnetic susceptibility, vibration, and temperature variation. Together, they hope to achieve standardized test methods that the UAS industry can use to maintain public safety and well-being while benefiting from the wide range of applications and resources UAS provide.

The tests were performed in NIAR’s Environmental and Electromagnetic Test Labs, which will soon move to Air Capital Flight Line, formerly the site of the Boeing Company. www.salina.k-state.edu/aviation/uas; www.niar.wichita.edu