Exercise 7: Introduction to Unmanned Aerial Systems

For this week's exercise we assembled out in the field to experience unmanned aerial systems up close and personal. Joe Hupy and Max demonstrated how to operate the controls of the UAS units and the differences between the two builds. Max's rotary unit had 6 arms with a propeller on each, while Joe's rotary unit had 3 arms with 2 propellers on each (Figure 1.). Both units had a similar maximum speed and a flight duration of 15 minutes. The two units had exceptional agility while performing high speed maneuvers and great stability when hovering (Figure 2.). Joe's unit was equipped with a digital camera attached to a gimbal stabilizer. This allowed the camera to stay level no matter the orientation of the UAS. This function is highly useful for windy conditions that would usually alter the alignment and angle of the camera.

Figure 1. Max's 6 armed UAS on the left and Joe's 3 armed UAS on the right. Each unit has 6 propellers and a flight time of 15 minutes. 

Figure 2. Max flying his unit a foot above the surface. Rotary wing units are extremely agile and stable.

The next unit in the demonstration was a high altitude kite (Figure 3.). The kite is useful for windy conditions that a UAS vehicle or a balloon would not be able to handle. By attaching a digital camera to the kite string via gimbal, aerial images can be collected with ease. The camera was set to take a picture every second for 2 minutes, providing the operator with plenty of time to get the kite to the desired altitude for data collection. Altitude of the imagery can be altered by simply raising or lowering the kite, and shifting the imagery to the side only requires the kite controller to walk to the desired location. These kites can collect data from hundreds of feet in the air and only require a bit of wind to operate (Figure 4.)

Figure 3. This high altitude kite is very affordable and perfect for collecting data on a windy day. 

Figure 4. The kite was equipped with a hanging digital camera to take aerial images during the flight. 

The grand finale of the demonstration included a rocket launch. Two small video cameras the size of key-chains were attached to the rocket via tape to record both the ascend and descend of the rocket (Figure 5.). Unfortunately, upon launch the rocket engines were loaded in improperly and caused the rocket to only fly about 100 feet upwards. A successful launch should have yielded altitudes of 3 to 4 times greater than our results, but we will have to wait for better weather to schedule a relaunch. 

Figure 5. Joe attaching the small video cameras to the fuselage of the rocket. Had the launch gone according to plan, two different angles of the ascend and descend would have been recorded. 

This demonstration of various UAS data collection techniques displayed the huge potential within this field. Using UAS to collect data is far cheaper, faster, simpler, and much more efficient for today's purposes. I am truly excited to work in such a new field and contribute to the growing success of unmanned aerial systems.