AT&T and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are researching traffic management solutions for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
The goal is an Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) solution that supports safe and highly secure operation of drones in the national airspace.
AT&T has been working with NASA and other companies to make UAS flight-path monitoring, flight planning, navigation, surveillance and tracking safer in the areas of wireless networking and advanced technologies.
AT&T brings expertise in networking, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, identity management and cybersecurity to the effort.
“Working with NASA and others, we are designing the management system for a new frontier in aviation,” said Mike Leff, vice president, Civilian, AT&T Global Public Sector Solutions. “Drones are already used in agriculture, public safety, construction, utilities, real estate and television. This research can help support the commercial and private use of drones nationwide.”
A key element AT&T and NASA are researching is the potential impact of cybersecurity threats. The vast availability of drones — and their many current and potential uses — could increase their risk of cyberattacks. AT&T advocates cybersecurity protections designed into the system from the outset.
AT&T will continue to participate in NASA demonstrations, workshops and studies related to airspace operations concepts and technologies.
AT&T moderated an expert panel discussion about the role of cybersecurity in UTM Nov. 10 at the Oncenter in Syracuse, New York. The panel took place as part of UTM Convention 2016.
AT&T has also implemented a national drone program. The company uses drones to inspect cell towers and measure network performance at venues and locations across the country.
Additionally, Chris Penrose, President of AT&T’s Internet of Things Solutions, was selected as a member of the FAA’s Drone Advisory Committee earlier this year. The group identifies and advises actions to support the safe introduction of UAS into our national airspace.
Near Earth Autonomy, a specialist in autonomy solutions for unmanned aircraft, will support NASA’s mission to introduce unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the National Airspace (NAS). The contract was awarded through the NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.
Under this award, Near Earth will develop and demonstrate technologies that enable safe unmanned aircraft operation in the case of unexpected contingency situations. The SBIR award is in partnership with NASA Langley Research Center.
A Near Earth test UAV. (Photo: Near Earth)
UAS have the potential to impact modern society by providing efficient solutions for tasks such as surveying crop fields, inspecting large structures, and delivering packages and cargo; as well as taking on dangerous tasks such as fire-fighting and search and rescue.
Under the NASA award, Near Earth is developing an autonomous contingency system that will provide the UAV the ability to deal with wind disturbances, loss of power, and engine and sensor failures. The ACS will be a fully autonomous system that can discover and adapt to changes in unpredictable environments, while accomplishing the mission goals, with minimal or no human involvement.
“As unmanned aircraft are taking on these complex and hazardous conditions in low altitudes, it is essential to have the technology onboard that will identify the contingency, adapt to the situation, and make the necessary modifications for a safe and successful mission,” says Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth Autonomy.
The SBIR will build on Near Earth’s prior NASA-supported research centered on the perception and planning for small UAS, including Safe50, which enables safe and robust flight, particularly during the first and last 50 feet of the take-off and landing phases.
Near Earth Autonomy will exhibit its developments at the UTM Convention 2016 at Booth 119.
Soldier-borne sensors, leader-follower cargo-hauling technology and tiny, handheld unmanned aircraft are in the forefront of new technologies planned for U.S. warfighters, according to Maj. Gen. Robert M. “Bo” Dyess. The deputy director of the U.S. Army Capability Integration Center told AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems Defense keynote audience that developing tools and systems demanded by soldiers is key. He cited a recent demonstration exercise, in which soldiers responded enthusiastically to small, backpackable UAS that would let them see over the next hill or fence.
The Army is also developing autonomous ground systems including an unmanned combat vehicle, fully autonomous convoy operations and swarming unmanned aircraft. Autonomous weapons are seen as key in combatting both relatively low-tech guerilla and militia groups as well as high-tech “near-peer” combatants from organized industrial powers. A contested electromagnetic spectrum is emerging as a critical battlefield in the contemporary and future warscape, Dyess said. Cyberspace, racked by fundamental threats of spoofing, jamming and hacking, becomes the new killing ground.
Shad Reese, Tactical Warfare Systems, Unmanned Vehicles coordinator for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense, said DoD is elaborating a new unmanned systems roadmap, which should be published in the first quarter of 2017. The roadmap will cover the period 2016-2041.
Reese said that a key aspect of the new roadmap is swarming technology, although at present there is little work underway in industry to support this. “Everyone and their mom is talking about swarming, but if you step back and look at what’s going on in industry, there are no real players in industry working on swarming.” Some work is underway in academia, but “we would like to have commercially available swarming technology.”
The Army’s squad mission support transport robot (SMET).
Army’s Ground Robots
The Army has put a robotic vehicle, the squad mission support transport robot (SMET), designed to carry heavy loads for troops, into an accelerated acquisition program. SMET is a 1,000-lb. tracked or wheeled platform carrying rucksacks, water or ammunition. A SMET version was recently tested in Afghanistan.
An Army spokesperson said the SMET has also been chosen as a pilot program a new way to do acquisitions that could shave time off development and fielding of new technologies, with industry involved from the start in specifications and requirements.
Swarms
Hordes of flying, thinking armed robots that autonomously coordinate amongst themselves, altering attack strategies in mid-mission and pushing through to strike targets kamikaze-style, are also seen as critical to future combat. The Air Force Research Laboratory calls the tactical weapons “distributed collaborative systems.”
Three drones work together to beam back information about an enemy’s location, and blocks their radar signals. (Image: DARPA)
The Air Force seeks to put “that next level of decision making and capability on the platform. Not only can it maintain itself, but it can work other parts of the team, whether those be airmen, or whether those be other machines to perform a mission task.”
Swarming micro-drones can be “really fast, really resistant. They can fly through heavy winds and be kicked out the back of a fighter jet moving at Mach 0.9, like they did during an operational exercise in Alaska last year, or they can be thrown into the air by a soldier in the middle of the Iraqi desert.”
“Swarming is a way to gain the effect of greater intelligence without each individual unit needing to be intelligent,” added one strategist. Last year Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of the Air Force Material Command, called swarming drones “very much a game-changing reality for our Air Force in the future.”
One consultant added that a human operator may not be able to compete with a fully autonomous system that identifies, analyzes and geolocates a target, especially in such a scenario where the swarm is moving rapidly. “The power and the sheer speed of execution would give them a huge advantage over their adversaries.”
Kristen Kearns, autonomy portfolio lead at AFRL, said that a major challenge with any autonomous system is verifying and validating that the decisions it is making are correct. Trust, or “verification and validation,” becomes paramount with artificial intelligence, Kearns added. “How do we assure safe and effective operations when we put decision making in the platforms?”
Steve Walker, deputy director of DARPA, said his agency has been working on developing battle management systems with a blend of manned and unmanned vehicles. “You have humans and unmanned systems and you need data fused together quickly and things are happening fast and you don’t want to overload the human with all that information. … You want to give him or her exactly what he needs to make a decision and have all these distributed effects work together,” he said.
One official noted the presence of many YouTube videos demonstrating robots flying, sailing or moving in formation. “It’s a good illustration of how so much of the advancement in this space is happening outside the defense world.”
The Piksi Multi is a multi-band, multi-constellation receiver for the mass market. Autonomous devices require precision navigation, especially those that perform critical functions. The receiver uses real-time kinematics (RTK) technology, providing location solutions 100 times more accurate than traditional GPS. Piksi Multi supports GPS L1/L2 and is hardware-ready for GLONASS G1/G2, BeiDou B1/B2, Galileo E1/E5b, QZSS L1/L2 and SBAS. The Piksi Multi Evaluation Kit also has been upgraded with all-new components. The new kit contains two Piksi Multi GNSS modules, two integrator-friendly evaluation boards, two GNSS survey-grade antennas and two high-performance radios, so that it can deliver reliability and range — well over 10 kilometers — and all of the accessories required for rapid prototyping and integration.
For dedicated time and frequency transfer applications
The Septentrio PolaRX5TR.
The PolaRx5TR has 544 hardware channels and supports all major satellite constellations including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou, QZSS and IRNSS. A calibration circuit is incorporated to measure and compensate for internal delay, removing the need for calibration using external equipment and ensuring measurement latching is always accurately synchronized with the PPS input. The PolaRx5TR is compliant with the new-format CGGTTS version V2E of Consultative Committee for Time and Frequency (CCTF) recommendations. Also included as standard is Septentrio’s Advanced Interference Mitigation (AIM+) technology, giving outstanding interference robustness in difficult radio environments. Up to eight independent logging sessions can be configured logging to either the 16-GB internal memory or to an externally connected device.
The NCS Titan GNSS simulator has up to 256 channels (and 1024 multipath channels) and up to 4 RF outputs per chassis, providing flexibility and outstanding performance . The extra complexity and cost of using multiple signal generators is avoided, improving reliability without compromising on functionality. Its innovative design allows users configure channels for any GNSS signals and allocate those channels to any of the RF outputs fitted. This flexibility enables the same simulator hardware to be used for an extensive range of tests, for all types of GNSS applications. The NCS TITAN GNSS Simulator was developed in cooperation with WORK Microwave GmbH, Germany.
The GSS200D Interference Detection and Analysis solution, developed with Nottingham Scientific Limited, comprises field-based hardware and a secure data server for automatic capture and analysis of GNSS radio-frequency interference. Deployments of GSS200D probes provide users with a thorough understanding of the RF interference environment at sites of interest. Spirent has already detected thousands of disruptive GPS L1 interference events with its global network of GSS100D detectors. By adding support of additional frequencies and constellations, as well as improving the analysis and reporting, the GSS200D responds to the demand of critical infrastructure and civil aviation customers.
For surveyors, contractors, builders and engineers
The Carlson BRx6 is a multi-GNSS, multi-frequency receiver. It has a multi-band 372-channel GNSS receiver, Athena RTK technology and an integrated Atlas L-band receiver. The BRx6 also contains electronic sensors that measure tilt, direction (electronic compass) and acceleration, supporting Carlson SurvCE’s advanced features such as LDL (live digital level or e-bubble), leveling tolerance, auto by level, tilted-pole correction and advanced stakeout features. SurvCE contains sophisticated checks for compass and acceleration anomalies to ensure accuracy. The BRx6 delivers affordable, high-positional accuracy. Manufactured to Carlson’s exacting specifications by Hemisphere GNSS, the BRx6 can be used as a precise base station or lightweight rover. RTK corrections can be received over UHF radio, cell modem, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or serial connection.
RTK Assist is a subscription-based service that provides users with satellite-delivered correction data to seamlessly continue centimeter-level accuracy during real-time kinematic (RTK) correction outages caused by communication disruptions. Users are able to maintain RTK-level performance for up to 20 minutes, reducing any associated downtime and optimizing solution productivity. The RTK positioning with correction data is delivered directly to the receiver via satellite, allowing for a continuous centimeter-level solution that is globally available 24/7.RTK Assist is best suited for applications where there are potential obstructions, dead spots or baseline limitations that would cause RTK network correction losses for short periods of time.
The POSPac MMS 8 is GNSS-aided inertial post-processing software for georeferencing data collected from cameras, lidars, multi-beam sonars and other sensors on mobile platforms. POSPac MMS 8 uses the Trimble CenterPoint RTX subscription service to deliver these benefits for mobile mapping from land, air, marine and UAV platforms. With an internet connection, users can achieve centimeter-level accuracy within one hour after data collection — there is no need to wait for delivery of public-domain ephemeris data. Users can map inaccessible regions that have no existing Continuously Operation Reference Stations (CORS) without the cost of deploying local base stations. With Trimble’s private network, users can attain consistent and reliable uptime.
TerraGo GeoPDF software suite version 7 offers new features to enable open, cross-platform, cloud and mobile access to advanced maps, engineering drawings, high-resolution imagery and other types of spatial data assets. Version 7 has tools for publishing GeoPDFs, including TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS, TerraGo Publisher for ArcGIS Server, TerraGo Composer, TerraGo GeoPDF Platform Toolkit, TerraGo Publisher for Raster and TerraGo Toolbar. Features include PubPy, which extends and enhances integration into ArcGIS ArcPy to enable on-demand web services and GIS portals; and OpenGeoPDF, which adds Open Geospatial Consortium GeoPackage to GeoPDF documents to enable GIS-Lite applications using TerraGo Toolbar 7.0. Other features include mobile-workflow support, advanced layer control and remote desktop.
Aeropoints are desgined for for companies across the industrial sector — including mining, construction, quarries and landfills.
AeroPoints are smart ground-control points designed to make it easy to capture survey–accurate mapping using drones. The portable ground-control markers are visible from the air and capable of quickly capturing their own positions down to 2-centimeter absolute accuracy. AeroPoints work with any camera or drone, and integrate seamlessly with Propeller’s cloud–based data platform and processing engine. They’re solar–powered, durable and weather- resistant, and they don’t require any on-site connection. To use AeroPoints, customers simply lay them down, fly their drone, and then pick them up again. They automatically connect to a wireless or mobile hotspot when back in range to upload captured positional data.
The miniVUX-1UAV is a compact miniaturized 360-degree field-of-view lidar sensor weighing 1.6 kilograms. It is developed for the implementation of emerging survey solutions by small UAS, UAV and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS). The sensor offers multi-target capability and accuracy using echo digitization and online waveform processing for data acquisition. It is capable of 100,000 measurements per second and offers an operating altitude of 100+ meters. Its small size and low weight make it suitable for mounting under limited weight and space conditions, allowing UAV-based acquisition of survey-grade measurement data for agriculture and forestry fieldwork, archaeology and cultural heritage documentation, glacier and snowfield mapping, and landslide monitoring.
Safer Together is designed to reduce the risk of mid-air collision between aircraft and UAVs. Developed by senseFly and the Air Navigation Pro app makers, it is designed to make the skies a safer place by providing general aviation (GA) pilots and drone operators with awareness of each other’s airborne activities, giving them the knowledge they need to take any actions necessary to avoid mid-air incidents around 200–400 feetabove ground level, where most light-weight drones fly. SenseFly added GA functionality to its eMotion flight-planning software, enabling operators to create a special advisory when activating automated drone flights. eMotion transmits the advisory to Air Navigation Pro’s server, which will push the information to all smart devices of connected app users. In turn, senseFly drone operators will be able to view the Air Navigation users’ flights in real time.
The Geo-iNAV 1000 SAASM is a low-cost, rugged SAASM GPS-aided inertial navigation system. It tightly couples a SAASM GPS sensor with a high-stability Quartz micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) inertial measurement unit (IMU) to provide a high-performance navigation solution in challenging environments. Features include simple integration, SAASM GPS with path to M-code, internal high-accuracy quartz MEMS IMU, tight-coupling with Geodetics’ Extended Kalman Filter, in-motion dynamic alignment, and RS-232, RS422 and Ethernet (TCP/UDP) interfaces.
The Hover Camera Passport hovers in place to allow users to quickly and easily take photographs. The self-flying camera is aimed at consumers, flying without the restraints of controllers. Once the camera is unfolded and powered on, the passport can take 13-megapixel photos and 4,000-pixel (4K) video using proprietary embedded artificial intelligence technology. The Hover Camera Passport introduces a new design into the flying camera field, with its propellers and motors encased in a strong, light carbon-fiber structure that ensures fingers can’t slip through during normal use. Features include auto-follow with face and body tracking, 360 spin; orbit; and self-positioning using a combination of sonar, its downward viewing camera and artificial intelligence.
The Karma drone, designed to accompany a GoPro camera, features a compact, fits-in-a-small-backpack design and includes an image-stabilization grip that can be handheld or mounted to vehicles, gear and more. Karma is designed to capture smooth, stabilized video during almost any activity. Compact and foldable, the entire system fits into the included backpack that’s so comfortable to wear during any activity, users will forget they’ve got it on. The game-style controller features an integrated touch display, making it easy to fly without the need for a separate phone or tablet. The three-axis camera stabilizer can be removed from the drone and attached to the included Karma Grip for capturing ultra-smooth handheld and gear-mounted footage.
The Epson Moverio BT-300 augmented reality (AR) smart glasses are light, binocular and transparent with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. Combining silicon-based OLED digital display technology and Android OS 5.1, the Moverio BT-300 enables transparent mobile augmented reality (AR) experiences, including while flying drones. With the DJI GO app and the Moverio glasses, drone pilots are able to see clear, transparent first-person views from the drone camera while simultaneously maintaining their line of sight with their aircraft.The DJI GO app works with the DJI Phantom, Inspire and Matrice series flying platforms as well as the Osmo handheld gimbal and camera.
The GPS-713-GGG-N and GPS-713-GGGL-N ATEX-qualified triple-frequency GNSS antennas come with Inmarsat rejection filters. Hazardous environments — those found on oil platforms, tankers and refineries — require compliance with the European 94/9EC ATEX directive. Based on the company’s Pinwheel technology, both antennas maximize performance with multi-constellation reception of L1, L2, L5 GPS; L1, L2, L3 GLONASS; B1, B2 BeiDou; and E1, E5a/b Galileo frequencies, the company said.The GPS-713-GGGL-N also supports L-band from 1525 to 1560 MHz. Customers can use the same antenna for GPS only, or up to quad-constellation applications, resulting in increased flexibility and reduced equipment costs. The two antennas deliver choke-ring-level antenna performance, but without the size and weight. Both provide enhanced Inmarsat interference rejection, which allows tracking of GNSS signals in the presence of high-powered Inmarsat transmitters typically found on marine vessels.
The GV-86 is a high-sensitivity GPS receiver module supporting dead reckoning, which enables positioning in environments where no GNSS signals can be received, such as tunnels, underground car parking and deep urban canyons. The receiver concurrently receives GPS, SBAS and QZSS satellite signals. The dead-reckoning function is realized by integrating the information from a gyro sensor and a velocity sensor. It has fast time to first fix, and highly improved noise tolerance, and a configurable position output update rate up to 10 Hz (10 times per second.)
DJI, maker of unmanned aerial vehicles, and DroneSAR, an Irish tech start-up for search and rescue, on Thursday announced a new search and rescue app that seamlessly integrates a drone’s unique aerial perspective on life-and-death searches into incident management software, ensuring rescue crews can use drones effectively to save lives.
DroneSAR can stream live images and video, from a regular or thermal imaging camera, to an incident command center as well as other rescue teams on the ground. The software can tag the GPS coordinates of a victim and automatically transmit them by email or SMS, enabling ground crews to reach victims more quickly. Completed search patterns are all recorded and logged for easy handover to oncoming rescue crews.
The app takes into account various types of terrain, allowing the drone to fly patterns to survey an area faster and more effectively. Flight paths can be adjusted for any terrain including hills, mountains, trees or flat land. The software allows users to choose an automatic aerial search pattern based on variables such as altitude, field of view, battery life and probability of detection. By organizing the process of data collection and providing a framework to manage and analyze it, DroneSAR ensures drones can be used methodically as part of a rescue protocol, allowing personnel to work more safely and effectively.
“From understanding on how to use the technology, to communicating findings and data, to figuring out the most appropriate tactical approach, first responders can benefit greatly from this software app on our DJI hardware,” said Romeo Durscher, director of Education at DJI. “Many of the tasks and strategies deployed during a search and rescue operation can get sped up with automation, helping to reduce the time it takes to find a victim and save lives.”
The software was developed based on research done by DJI in conjunction with the European Emergency Number Association and Ireland’s Donegal Mountain Search and Rescue team. The groups found that while a five-person rescue team on foot needs an average of two hours to find a victim in one square kilometer, a drone can do the job in 20 minutes or less while taking additional active steps to achieve a successful rescue.
“Our aim is to save lives,” said Oisin McGrath, co-founder and CEO of DroneSAR. “Our software will reduce risk to search teams and reduce search time. If we can save just one life, that is mission success for us at DroneSAR.”
Oxford Technical Solutions is featuring its xNAV system, particularly for use in UAVs, at Intergeo 2016, which is being held Oct. 11-13 in Hamburg, Germany. The system is designed to deliver superior position, roll/pitch and heading data, even in challenging operating environments.
NovAtel Inc. has placed a research contract to determine how GNSS technology can deliver a positioning solution that meets both the safety and accuracy requirements of unmanned automotive vehicles.
The research will include study concepts for high-precision, high-integrity carrier phase algorithms as well as threat models and safety monitors with the purpose of improving the safety of autonomous land transportation.
This year’s European Satellite Navigation Competition centered on the topic of civilian drone use. On Oct. 25 in Madrid, the 2016 edition culminated in an awards ceremony featuring prominent industry representatives and the winners of 32 categories, which included 11 drone applications.
Rafael van Frieken, Madrid’s regional minister of education, youth and sport, presented the grand prize to the drone security system GUAPO.
GUAPO — A security system for early drone detection, classification and tracking
Drones have been one of the biggest trends of 2016. At the same time, concerns regarding the safety of these devices are growing due to the rise in media reports of drones crashing or encroaching on security-critical spaces.
In response, the overall winners of ESNC 2016 — Carmine Clemente and his team from the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, Scotland) — are developing a satellite-based system capable of early drone detection and tracking.
GUAPO factors in the electromagnetic characteristics of drones to offer continuous coverage with low resource requirements. It provides a cost-effective, sensor-based solution for monitoring areas where security is paramount, such as in the protection zones around airports.
The GUAPO team from the UK took top honors in the 2016 ESNC.
In addition, GUAPO is suited to security-related activities in connection with large events or drone deliveries in e-commerce.
Along with the competition’s EUR 10,000 grand prize, the innovative project is now set to receive an extensive package including cash, marketing support, consulting services and technical assistance as the winner of the U.K.’s regional ESNC prize. These benefits are designed to accelerate the idea’s further development and market entry.
Civilian drones a growth market for GNSS
According to the latest drone report compiled by Business Insider, drone sales are expected to surpass EUR 11 billion by the year 2021 — a significant increase on the EUR 7 million the segment accounts for at present. Playing a prominent role in this growth will be commercial drones, the sales of which are projected to quadruple over the next five years thanks to ongoing technological advancements and heightening price competition.
To operate safely, drones rely on satellite navigation signals such as GPS and Galileo for precise positioning and orientation. They thus represent a promising growth market for GNSS.
The ESNC’s first attempt to address this up-and-coming market — a joint effort with Xunta de Galicia — was a success: A full third of the 2016 winners were recognized for innovative drone applications.
An overview of the winning entrants in all of this year’s 32 categories is now available on competition website, and are listed below.
“The large number of promising drone applications the ESNC received this year will aid our partner regions in positioning themselves in this future segment,” added Thorsten Rudolph, CEO of Anwendungszentrum GmbH Oberpfaffenhofen and initiator of the ESNC. “Thanks to our new special prize for UAVs, the competition has also further solidified its reputation as an engine of innovation in new market sectors.”
Europe’s innovation network for satellite navigation
Having received more than 400 auspicious business ideas and highly advanced technical concepts, ESNC 2016 now offers solutions to the social and economic challenges our world currently faces.
Since 2004, more than 300 prize-winners, nearly 3,800 entries and 10,000 participants from around the world have transformed the competition into the leading innovation network in satellite navigation.
As a result, the ESNC is now playing a key role in the uptake of Europe’s EGNOS and Galileo programmes.
“Downstream entrepreneurs and start-ups play an important role. They are the ones bringing EGNOS and Galileo down to Earth through the applications they develop. This is where the European Satellite Navigation Competition plays a crucial role,” said Matthias Petschke, director for the European Satellite Navigation Programmes of the European Commission. “The ESNC has accumulated a track record of success in fostering innovation and application development in satellite navigation since its launch in 2004.”
2016 winners
Overall winner
Carmine Clemente, Domenico Gaglione, Christos Ilioudis :: Regional Winner United Kingdom
GNSS based UAV monitoring system for Airfields using Passive radar Observations (GUAPO)
Special prize winners
Achilles Tripolitsiotis, Asst Prof Panagiotis Partsinevelos, Prof Stelios Mertikas :: GSA
Drones2GNSS – the Future of Surveying: UAV-assisted GNSS Positioning in Obstructed Environments
Sasha Afanasieva, Alessio Nunzi :: ESA
Blubel – SatNav in a Connected Bicycle Bell
Piotr Krystek :: DLR
Augmented Crane Navigation System (ACNS)
Mark Dumville, Ben Wales, Dr Luis Enrique Aguado, Dr Nigel Davies, Richard Bowden, Kevin Adams, Daniel Boulton, Matthew Jones :: BMVI
GRIPPA – A PRS-enabled Smartphone Sleeve for Critical Applications
Rafael Aguado, Juan Díaz, Jorge Gómez, Ana Pérez :: UAV
CANARD – Calibration of Air Navigation Safety Beacons with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Noordin Ahmad, Ooi Wei Han, Shahrizal Ide Moslin, Helmi Kadir, Norhan Mat Yusoff, Muhammad Firdaus Mat Ghani :: BELS
ATTracT – Autism Trigger, Tracking and Trace
Asst Prof Panagiotis Partsinevelos, Nikos Afentakis & Senselab Research Team :: University Challenge
Message in a Bubble (MiaB): Pinpoint the Present, Empower the Future
Luke Robinson, Michael Castle :: GNSS Living Lab
GoWalk – ‘Fitbit’ for Elderly People to Keep them Independent and Healthy
Regional winners
Irene Franco Freire, Miguel A. Ledo Loyola :: Andalucia / Spain
ManySafe.Pin: Ecological, Customisable, Autonomous GPS with Global Reach – and No Battery
Austin Cheng-Yun Tsai, Dr Tsung-Hsun Tsai, Amy Hsin-Yi Lai, Jasmine Cheng-Jin Tsai, Dr Frank Chee-Da Tsai :: Asia
Digital Media Convergence and Drone Video Capturing with Social Networking – Sharing & Profiting
Markus Manninger, Andreas Ploier, Azra Todoric :: Austria
Intelligent Drone Rescue System
Rainer Schrode, Ulrike Nohlen, Dr Alexander Beetz :: Baden-Württemberg / Germany
Civil engineering 3D+ guide
Mikel Beltrán, Igor Latasa :: Basque Country / Spain
Position-based Automatic Rail Track Monitoring System (PARTS)
Hartmut Runge :: Bavaria / Germany
Night Vision – An App That Increases Visibility
Paco Morente, Jesús David Morente, Pablo Ibáñez, Matilde Bellido Rubiales :: Catalonia / Spain
Biomimetic Drones and Fear as a Sustainable Method of Pest Control
Michal Jakob, Jan Hrnèíø, Pavol Žilecký, Jan Nykl :: Czech Republic
MoveLight: GNSS-enabled Platform for Light Personal Mobility
Olivier Dinet, Przemysaw Szurmak, Mateusz Koœlacz, Larissa Goethals :: Flanders / Belgium
Faver: Enabling Strangers to Do Each Other Favours for Rewards Based on Their Location
Charles Moszkowicz, Jean-Charles Simonin :: France
Pokemon Biodiv – Discover and Preserve Biodiversity
Manuel García Sánchez, Daniel Gómez Pérez :: Galicia / Spain
GNSS-Assisted Drone Landing System
Matthias Siegel, Wolfgang Armbruster :: Hesse / Germany
ISOCollect: Predictive Waste Collection Optimisation with Innovative Fill-Level Monitoring & Smart Routes
Dan O`Donoghue, Richard Fairman :: Ireland
I.O.T.A.P., the Internet of Things and People by Farmflo
Gady Shlasky, Yossi Aloni :: Israel
Optibus OnTime™ – Reacting to Bus Delays BEFORE they Impact Passengers
Dr Saulius Rudys, Aleksej Kaminskij, Dr Domantas Brucas :: Lithuania
Electromagnetic Compatibility Measurements Using Very Light Hardware on a Drone
Pablo Flores :: Madrid / Spain
DRONE HOPPER – Extinguishing Wildfires, Spraying Crops
Jeroen Derriks, Ingrid van Namen :: The Netherlands
Crowdsourced Surface Elevation Mapping Through Gamification
Dr Harald Skinnemoen, Magnus Vikstrøm, Mete Cakman, Ivan Milecevic, Dan Richard Isdahl-Eng :: Norway
BIRDEYE – Visual UAV Communication / Pilot Support with Integrated Satellite Navigation and Networking
Rafał Osypiuk, Mateusz Spychała :: Poland
Safe Airspace Sharing Between Manned and Unmanned Airborne Vehicles
Titus Balan, Dan Robu, Florin Sandu :: Romania
AwareAnywhere – Nowcasting and Localised Response Force Mobilisation
Therese Öhman :: Sweden
Positioned Production and Management
Dr Aanjhan Ranganathan, Hildur Olafsdottir, Prof Dr Srdjan Capkun :: Switzerland
SPREE: A Spoofing-Resistant GNSS Receiver
Dr Carmine Clemente, Domenico Gaglione, Christos Ilioudis :: United Kingdom
GNSS based UAV monitoring system for Airfields using Passive radar Observations (GUAPO)
Ricardo Verdeguer Moreno, Hilario Pinedo Puig :: Valencian Community / Spain
Handling Stations Network for UAS Applications
NASA’s concept for a possible UTM system would safely manage diverse UAS operations in the airspace above buildings and below crewed aircraft operations in suburban and urban areas. (Image: NASA)
Silent Falcon UAS Technologies participated in the NASA UTM (unmanned traffic management) project headed up by the NASA Ames Research Center, held this month in Reno, Nevada.
NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are working together to identify ways to safely enable large-scale UAS operations in the low-altitude airspace. The growing number of UAS and commercial UAS applications has led to this critical project.
The UTM flight tests took place the week of Oct. 17. Silent Falcon, along with 11 other partners in the UTM program, flew their aircraft in typical UAS scenarios.
The tests focused on the ability to alert and inform airspace users of potential dangers and conflicting situations that go BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) as well as within VLOS (visual line of sight). Safety is of utmost importance and visual observers will be put in place to ensure aircraft stay on their designated paths and won’t interfere with other aircraft in the area.
Silent Falcon
Silent Falcon is a solar electric, carbon fiber, modular small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) designed for numerous commercial, public safety, military and security applications.
Silent Falcon’s solar electric propulsion systems gives it the unique ability to stay in the air for extended periods of time — five or more hours depending on environmental conditions. It’s also what gives the Silent Falcon its ability to be virtually silent. Once the Silent Falcon reaches 100 meters, it’s effectively undetectable.
The composite structure of the Silent Falcon provides exceptional durability while flying in all types of conditions, as well as for launch and recovery. It’s also very lightweight for ease of transport and in-air maneuverability.
The Silent Falcon UAS prepared for launch. (Photo: Silent Falcon)
Using a highly sophisticated mesh network, wave relay communication system, the airborne network nodes provide seamless dissemination of voice, video and data. With an internet connection on the ground, users can provide secure and encrypted voice, video and data to anyone, anywhere in the world on a private Silent Falcon communication network.
The large, open payload bay of the Silent Falcon has been designed with an open interface and open architecture to accommodate a wide range of sensors, cameras and payloads. This allows the Silent Falcon to perform a large variety of extended range and endurance missions.
“We are extremely fortunate to be a part of this very important project – both in the actual flight operations, as well as the development of the UTM software,” said John Brown, Silent Falcon UAS Technologies president and CEO. “This project is extremely important to the UAS industry and is of particular interest to us as we manufacture a long-range, long-endurance fixed-wing UAS that was designed for BVLOS applications. We are grateful to NASA for including us and we look forward to further participation as the project continues to move forward.”
OriginGPS, a manufacturer of miniature GNSS modules, has launched three new products built on the flash-based SiRFstar V from Qualcomm Technologies Inc.
This latest trio of modules has drone features such as low-latency velocity and position outputs and 5-Hz position updates.
The Multi Hornet and Multi Micro Hornet offer drone OEMs a choice between 10 by 10 millimeter or 18 by 18 millimeter integrated, high-performance patch antennas, with benefits that extend to OBDII and under-dash telematics when utilizing the larger Multi Hornet.
The Multi Micro Spider brings all of these benefits into a compact 7 by 7 millimeter package suitable for use with a variety of external antennas. All of OriginGPS’ modules are designed with patented Noise Free Zone technology which minimizes noise, producing the maximum signal-to-noise ratio.
“No other supplier out there rallies these new flash-based additions on such advanced GPS/GNSS modules of this size,” says Haim Goldberger, president and CTO at OriginGPS. “Our plug-and-play Multi Hornet and Multi Micro Hornet offer the fastest time-to-market while maximizing performance even in the harshest of signal environments. The Multi Micro Spider also supports these flash-based additions with a variety of custom antenna solutions. Regardless of antenna placement or mechanical drone design, OriginGPS now offers the software features required in the smallest and lightest weight package.”
OriginGPS will be showing these new modules, along with their entire portfolio of GPS/GNSS modules, at Electronica, Hall A4, Stand 281.
Features include:
Onboard flash for enhanced drone functionality. Based on the SiRFstar 5eB02 GNSS SoC from Qualcomm Technologies, Inc, OriginGPS’ new offerings are the ideal solution for drone manufacturers looking to quickly integrate GNSS functionality without adding sizeable hardware or weight. The low-latency speed and velocity outputs make these the world’s smallest, fastest responding GNSS modules.
Multiple antenna configurations offers a solution for every application. With two new additions to the Hornet product line, designers can opt for the miniature 10×10 mm footprint with best-in-class performance or the larger 18×18 footprint for maximum performance when GNSS signal levels are low. The new Spider offering can be implemented with a variety of external antennas.
OriginGPS’ Noise Free Zone (NFZ). The ORG4033 utilizes OriginGPS’ patented and proprietary NFZ technology for continued noise immunity and razor-sharp sensitivity even in poor signal conditions.
Intuitive design that facilitates shorter time to market. The new flash-based modules each use an existing OriginGPS Hornet or Spider footprint. Developers can easily transition from ROM-based to flash-based modules or GPS to GNSS in the same footprint, thereby reducing overall development costs and shortening time to market.
Hurricane Matthew, which formed Sept. 28 and dissipated Oct. 10, brought torrential rains to the Carolinas, causing widespread flooding. The above is a screenshot from a drone inspection video.
In the wake of Hurricane Matthew, Verizon used drones for cell-site inspections in North Carolina and South Carolina. The aerial survey shortened cell-site recovery to hours compared to potentially days, based on the severity of flooding.
The quadcopter used was operated by Measure UAS, which conducted the flights with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) authorization.
Flights used a two-person crew that included a ground pilot for the UAS, and a visual observer of the operation for safe, legal and insured operations, Verizon said.
While Verizon was able to access most hurricane-affected sites quickly to assess damage, some sites were not accessible because of extreme flooding. That’s where the UAS came in.
Streaming in HD
The UAS was able to livestream and record high-definition video and high-resolution photographs of a cell site.
The first flight to a site surrounded by water near Elm City, North Carolina, and the Tar River Reservoir showed engineers that the base-station equipment — which was elevated on stilts — was not underwater and had not suffered visible damage.
After determining the site was safe to access, Verizon’s Network team secured an air boat and refueled the generator, bringing the site back into service within hours.
Verizon completed successful cell site inspection trials earlier this year in New Jersey providing valuable 3D imagery and system performance data via UAS.Now the company has several vendors to aid Verizon’s network maintenance and operations.
airborne service
In October, Verizon conducted the first trial with Verizon’s Airborne LTE Operations during an emergency management and disaster recovery exercise in Cape May, New Jersey.
The exercise simulated how Verizon’s network could provide 4G LTE coverage from a 17-foot wingspan UAS operated by American Aerospace Technologies (AATI) to first responders in an area impacted by a severe weather event where no wireless service is available.
While this is the first simulation in an emergency scenario, AATI and Verizon are conducting trials nationally testing connectivity between manned and unmanned aircraft and Verizon’s 4G LTE network, including in-flight connectivity.
Drones could soon be inspecting powerlines in India, thanks to a partnership between Sharper Shape and Sterlite Power.
Sharper Shape, based in Palo-Alto, California, offers automated drone-based asset inspections. Sterlite Power is a power transmission company in India.
The Sharper Shape Sharper A6 drone is designed for beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights.
Sharper Shape has already spearheaded the adoption of long-distance commercial drone flights for utilities in Europe. In the U.S., Sharper Shape is part of the EEI Sharper Utility partnership, an industry collaboration aimed at demonstrating and developing commercial long-distance drone flights for electric companies.
As part of the cooperation, Sterlite Power will make a minority investment in Sharper Shape to foster Indian market growth and continued technology development. The companies signed a partnership agreement during Make in India Week in Mumbai in February, an event held to spur innovation, design and sustainability.
Sterlite Power and Sharper Shape are awaiting approvals from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation for large-scale, long-distance inspection flights. Long-distance drone flights could provide significant benefits with safe, efficient and fast inspections compared to manned helicopter flights.
Utilities in India. The partnership also intends to provide services for other utilities in India. India has a power transmission network of more than a million circuit kilometers, which undergoes double-digit growth annually. The use of drones will increase the uptime of the grid, reduce transmission tariffs, avoid grid blackouts, and save the environment by reducing deforestation along the line corridors.
Sterlite Power has already introduced lidar for surveys and helicopters to avoid disturbances to farm activities and speed the process to commission much-needed infrastructure in India. Soon, it will deploy heli-cranes to erect transmission towers in the challenging terrains of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the United States…
In August, Sharper Shapesubmitted a waiver application to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), requesting approval to perform beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights. The waiver would allow members of the Edison Electric Institute (EEI)-Sharper Shape partnership to demonstrate and develop commercial long-distance flights for electric company asset inspections.
BVLOS flights are able to travel 10–20 miles, compared to roughly one-third of a mile under visual-line-of-sight regulations.
The test flights will leverage Sharper Shape’s new Sharper A6 drone and Sharperscope 5.0 payload. The A6 is optimized for BVLOS asset inspections, using four redundant cellular networks to make it virtually impossible for the drone to lose communication with ground-control operators, the company said.
Sharper Shape leverages the LTE commercial multi-billion-dollar networks, while other vendors use point-to-point, which can’t communicate beyond line of sight, or satellite connection, which suffers from high costs and invariable latency that increases the response time and impedes a pilot’s ability to make quick adjustments during flight.
