potential for using unmanned aerial vehicles (uav) in an on-site

Potential for Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in an On-Site Inspection

Dr James Palmer AWE plc, UK

CTBTO Science and Technology Conference 2015

T3.2-06

2 CTBTO Science and Technology Conference 2015. T3.2-06

§  Different definitions… §  Can be remote controlled or autonomous. §  They are only a platform for sensors. §  The really important question to address is,

What information do you want to gather?

What is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle?

Imagery Context information Data product e.g. vegetation locations


Types of UAVs

§  Small or large. §  Light or heavy. §  Wide range of sensors that

can be carried. §  Important factors;

§  payload, §  range, §  number of sensors carried, §  endurance, §  cost, §  size of launch area, §  complexity, §  capital and operation costs.

Fixed wing, rotary wing, multi-rotor, light than air.


Not considering large UAVs in this talk. Too expensive to buy, run, maintain, train Inspectors…


What is useful information for an OSI? §  Situation awareness. §  Site survey. §  Data on what is normal for the landscape. §  Imagery of ROIs. §  3D terrain models of ROIs. §  Imagery in multiple wavelengths. §  Thermal imagery. §  Processed data products. §  Information that is easy for the Inspection Team to understand and

absorb. §  Data that could contain observables/signatures.

§  How can data from UAVs provide this useful information?


Small UAV to survey an area of interest. Question to answer:

§  What can be seen in this new area of interest?

Task: §  Survey the site and create a 3D model of

this new area. Sensors:

§  Point-of-View video camera, visible light still camera.

Method: §  Flight pattern planned and created at the

BoO. §  Refined at Polygon if needed. §  Deploy UAV and survey the area with

UAV. §  Download data. §  Process data. §  Deliver data products to Inspection Team.

Case study


What is the state of the possible? §  Flight time long enough to survey a ROI. §  Sensors for many OSI techniques are now available for

UAVs. §  Panchromatic and spectral imaging cameras, thermal imaging

cameras, lidar, gamma spectrometers, … §  Some UAV systems do not need UAV experts to operate

them. §  Many can be transported easily by car/van/backpack. §  Live video streaming of what the UAV sees can be viewed

by people on the ground. §  Encryption of data collected. §  Authentification of UAV and sensors by state parties is

possible.


Conclusions §  There is huge potential for UAVs to be used during an OSI. §  UAVs are being used by various industries to collect information

relevant to OSIs, e.g site surveying.

§  UAV development is accelerating and their capabilities are improving. §  There is a wealth of options for how to use them during an OSI and

which type to use. §  Many OSI technologies can now be deployed via UAV.

§  MSIR, magnetometry, position finding, video, photography, ground penetrating radar.

§  Before using them you must answer the question, “How will the data a UAV collects be used to progress the OSI?”


How could UAVs be used in an OSI? Must address some questions first. §  What questions do you want the UAV

data to answer? §  How to use the data to assist the OSI?

(processing and analysis) §  What type of data should be collected? §  What missions should the UAVs fly? §  What do you want the UAV to do? §  What type of UAV to use? §  How might local aviation rules apply?


An OSI UAV concept §  Multi-rotor §  Live streaming of flight camera can be sent to many headsets. §  Modular sensors can be swapped as required. §  On-board storage. §  Altitude monitoring. §  Sight camera linked to motion headset used to view items of

interested. §  Ground control station.

§  Pilot controls. §  Cameraman controls. §  Status monitoring. §  Progress relative to flight plan display. §  Storage of live streaming images. §  Radio links to UAV.

§  Spare batteries and other spares.


Large UAVs §  Too expensive to buy, maintain, deploy, train and

retain operators. §  Leave it to NTM.


Medium sized UAVs Pros §  Long endurance. §  Whole IA could be surveyed. §  Can carry heavy payload. §  Can carry multiple sensors. §  More resilient to weather

conditions.

Cons §  Requires runway or launcher. §  Larger size creates transport

issues. §  Higher maintenance

requirements and costs. §  Larger regulation burden. §  At risk from local action. §  Greater technical expertise

needed to operate. §  Higher capital costs. §  Creates a fuel handling issue. §  More complex flight planning. §  Longer set up time pre-flight.


Small UAVs Pros §  Can be deployed within a ROI. §  Can cover a small area quickly. §  Short set up time. §  Possible to swap sensors as

required. §  Live video can be streamed to

the ground. §  Electrically powered. §  Rapid data review. §  Easier to transport.

Cons §  Limited flight duration. §  Vulnerable to weather

conditions. §  Limited payload capacity. §  Limited physical space for

electronic storage.


Data analysis. §  How data is analysed is determined by what question/

tasks we want the data to answer. e.g. §  “Find OSI relevant features.” Is too vague to be . §  In contrast the question, §  “Can high resolution visible light images of an area of

interest approximately 1000 km2 be captured during a field mission?”, can be answered. And the answer is yes.


Medium UAV to fly whole IA. §  Fixed wing aircraft. §  Requires runway or launcher. grass or hard standing §  Liquid fuel (petrol, Avgas, etc) §  Long range. §  Automated flight. §  Extensive range of sensors available (vis-LWIR imaging, Vis-LWIR

spectral imaging). §  Some live streaming, some on-board data storage. §  Options of viewing directions (nadir, off-nadir). §  High capital cost. §  Expensive to run and maintain. §  Local country flight rules to be considered.

potential for using unmanned aerial vehicles (uav) in an on-site

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