Adaptation of Herbicide Ballistic Technology to Unmanned Aerial … · 2020. 8. 4. · • Due to terrain helicopters are necessary for surveillance and management. 5 Photos Courtesy
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Enhancing Invasive Species Control with Unmanned Aerial Systems and Herbicide Ballistic Technology Roberto Rodriguez, Daniel Jenkins, James Leary August 26, 2017 Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Enhancing Invasive Species Controlwith Unmanned Aerial Systemsand Herbicide Ballistic Technology
Roberto Rodriguez, Daniel Jenkins, James LearyAugust 26, 2017
Department of Molecular Biosciences and BioengineeringUniversity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Aloha kakou. I am Roberto Rodriguez and I’ll be discussing my work on enhancing invasive species control with unmanned aerial systems and herbicide ballistic technology.
Hawai‘i
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38% of US Endangered
Species
Photos Courtesy Hawaii DLNR & MODIS.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The islands of Hawaii are home to a number of native birds, insects and plants. They also make of 38% of the endangered species in the US. 485/1269 US Endangered species
Invasive Plants
3Photos Courtesy Hawaii DLNR & MODIS.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
All of this native wildlife is threated by invasive species. Invasive plants outcompete their native counterparts permanently altering the habitat for other wildlife.
Miconia
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• Highly invasive• Remote, hard to reach
Meyer et. al. (2012)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This is miconia calvescens. It is native to central and south America with large green and purple leaves and was introduced to Hawaii as an ornamental plant. It is highly invasive and is listed as a state noxious weed in Hawaii. On the island of Tahiti miconia has taken over significant amounts of the forest. Miconia is capable of growing in remote, hard to reach areas and produces millions of sand grained sized propagules.
Helicopter Operations
• Due to terrain helicopters are necessary for surveillance and management
5Photos Courtesy Hawaii DLNR.
Presenter
Presentation Notes
While the terrain of Hawaii is often breathtaking it makes finding and removing these invasive plants extremely difficult. Helicopters are used to bring supplies, search for plants and even apply herbicides from the air.
Herbicide ballistic technology, which consists of herbicide containing projectiles discharged from a pneumatic applicator i.e., paintball marker, has been deployed from the air to treat many of these populations. During these operations a crewmember in the rear of the aircraft delivers the herbicide payload. These flights combine surveillance and treatment into a single operation maximizing available time.
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Unmanned Aerial Systems
• Aircraft and associated systems operated with no pilot on board
eBee (SenseFly)Spreading Wings S1000+ (DJI)
RMAX (Yamaha) X-Copter 1 (Oneseen Skytech)
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Unmanned aerial systems offer a new aerial platform for surveillance efforts utilizing fixed wing and rotorcraft without endangering crews. A few systems for precision agriculture provide the capabilities to kill these plants but are focused on spray techniques
Concept
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Payload Operator
Pilot
HBT-UASFly To Target
TreatFly Back
Presenter
Presentation Notes
This work proposes the use of an HBT equipped UAS capable of flying to a target, applying herbicide, and returning to the pilot…to kill these invasive plants. The pilot is responsible for the aircraft and application is controlled by an additional payload operator moving the moving the marker into position with a gimbal.
Objectives and Hypotheses
• Flight viability:– The gimbal-marker system will increase power
draw, due to increased weight from the payload, and decrease available flight time but will not significantly impact flight stability
• Treatment capability:– The gimbal-marker system will be capable of
delivering the appropriate pesticide dose with sufficient precision and accuracy to treat an immature miconia target
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
This work consisted of two primary objectives: to explore the viability of flying with an HBT payload and examining the treatment capabilities of such a system. We hypothesize that the gimbal-marker system will increase the power required to operate the aircraft due to the weight which will limit the available flight time but will not otherwise adversely affect flight stability and that the system will be capable of delivering the pesticide dose with sufficient precision and accuracy to treat an immature miconia target.
Aircraft• Model:
DJI S1000+ (N756LH)• Flight Controller:
DJI A3• MTOW: 11 kg• HT: 12-15 min• Battery:
MaxAmps 6S 22000mAh LiPoly
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Courtesy DJI
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The aircraft used in these experiments is a DJI S1000+ octocopter with an A3 flight controller. The maximum takeoff weight of the system is 11 kg with an unencumbered hover time of 12-15 minutes.
Payload
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Component Mass (kg)
Frame 4.40
Battery 2.53
Gimbal-Marker 3.97
Total 10.90
Presenter
Presentation Notes
The gimbal-marker system was designed and fabricated in collaboration with Tippmann Sports. The system is mounted under the fuselage between the landing gear by four hardpoints. Two servos control the attitude of the marker and a third controls the pneumatic valve to fire projectiles. An FPV camera is mounted in the front with a clear view of the barrel and electronics are housed in the rear away from interference of the aircraft.
Methods: Flight Stability & Battery Draw
• Automated rectangular flight path with stop to simulate target treatment (UgCS)
• Root Mean Squared Deviation– Horizontal and 3D difference between
unencumbered (control) and HBT equipped aircraft flight path based on flight records
– Measured for four stages of flight: Climb, Level, Stationary, Descent
• Battery Capacity– Battery capacity as measured by onboard flight
computer
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Methods: Flight Stability & Battery Draw
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CLIMB
LEVELLEVEL
DESCENT
STATIONARY
Planned Flight Path
Presenter
Presentation Notes
To determine the flight characteristics the aircraft was flown in an autonomous mode simulating a single target treatment. The aircraft first climbs to an altitude of 10 m and moves into position for treatment. The aircraft held this position for thirty seconds and then landed. The aircraft was flown with and without the payload with 5 minutes between flights to ensure similar weather and GPS constellation conditions between flights. The on board flight computer records for the GPS position and barometric altitude were examined for root mean squared horizontal and three dimensional deviations in the flight path. Records of the battery voltage were examined to determine the effects on power demand from the addition of the payload.
Methods: Treatment Statistics
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• Circular Error Probable (CEP)– Radius of circle containing 50% of points of
impact
• Root Mean Squared Deviation– Difference between aiming point and points
of impact
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Treatment properties were measured in accordance with navy, air force, and army standards for ballistic projectiles. This consists of the measurement of precision by circular error probably which is the radius of the smallest circle containing 50% of the points of impact and accuracy by root mean squared deviation which is a function of the difference between the aiming point and points of impact.
Methods: Treatment Statistics
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
Ten 68 caliber nylon projectiles were fired at a 76 cm x 91 cm target made of kraft paper held in tension by four clamps to ensure clear perforation from ranges of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 m. A 2.5 cm dimeter dot was drawn at the center of the target and the barrel aligned at the center of this point. Locations of impact points relative to the aiming point were measured from calibrated images of the targets using ImageJ.
Results: Flight Stability
16Planned Flight Path Control HBT Equipped
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Red is the control flight and blue is the HBT equipped flight.
Results: Flight Stability
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0
0.5
1
1.5
Hor
izon
tal R
MSD
(cm
)
Phase of Flight
0
5
10
15
20
25
3D R
MSD
(cm
)
Phase of Flight
Control HBT Equipped
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Red is the control flight and blue is the HBT equipped flight. Based on the flight records, the flight paths were very close with sub-centimeter horizontal root mean squared deviation and 5-12 cm three dimensional root mean squared deviation. This indicates that the payload has very little effect on the ability of the aircraft to maintain stable flight when flown autonomously. Flights were performed on April 5 at 11:55 with winds 7 kts gusting 14 kts.
Results: Battery Draw
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
Plots of the battery voltage indicate that the added weight of the payload results in a significant increase in the power demand particularly during the initial climb. Under these conditions the operational time is lowered from approximately 12 minutes to approximately 3 minutes.
Results: TreatmentDistance (m) CEP (cm) RMSD (cm)
2 1.87 10.41
4 3.81 12.89
6 4.87 6.40
8 5.58 12.11
10 5.05 10.08
19-20
-10
0
10
20
-20 0 20
Vert
ical
Dev
iatio
n (c
m)
Horizontal Deviation (cm)
2m
4m
6m
8m
10m
Photo courtesy Ryo Kubota
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Results of the CEP indicated that the projectile spread gradually increases as distance is increase with a maximum of 5.58 cm. The centers of each circle and the RMSE indicate that at close range impacts tend to be higher, possibly due to the magnus effect, and then drop as air resistance slows the projectiles and gravity pulls them down.
Conclusions
• Effects of the gimbal-marker system on flight stability are minimal in autonomous flight
• Added weight substantially reduces available flight time
• Projectile dispersal is within limits to treat a juvenile miconia plant
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Presenter
Presentation Notes
In conclusion the effects of the payload on flight stability are minimal in autonomous flight but the added weight substantially reduces the available flight time. Projectile dispersal is within limits to treat an individual miconia leaf. Future work to be undertaken includes in-flight testing of the precision and accuracy of the gimbal-marker system and eventually operational testing.
Future Improvements
• Improved payload capacity• Longer flight time• Beyond line of sight operation• Improved FPV video
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Yamaha RMAX
22Photos courtesy Ken Giles
Acknowledgements
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• This project is a collaboration between– University of Hawaii at Manoa, College of
Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources– Tippmann Sports– University of California Davis, Department of
Biological and Agricultural Engineering– University of Hawaii at Hilo, Spatial Data And
Visualization Lab
Presenter
Presentation Notes
I would like to the thank our partner Tippmann for work in designing and fabricating the gimbal-marker system. This project was made possible with funding from the Hawaii Invasive Species Council, USDA Hatch Act Formula Grant and Renewable Resources Extension Act.
Acknowledgements
• This project was funded in parts by:– Hawaii Invasive Species Council– USDA Hatch Act Formula Grant under Project
1132H– USDA Renewable Resources Extension Act– USDA Forest Service Special Technology and
Development Program
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Enhancing Invasive Species Controlwith Unmanned Aerial Systemsand Herbicide Ballistic Technology
Roberto Rodriguez, Daniel Jenkins, James J. K. LearyJuly 18, 2017
Department of Molecular Biosciences and BioengineeringUniversity of Hawai‘i at Mānoa
Presenter
Presentation Notes
Aloha kakou. I am Roberto Rodriguez and I’ll be discussing my work onenhancing invasive species control with unmanned aerial systems and herbicide ballistic technology.
