Course: Application of Unmanned Systems
Introduction
The analysis of systems for the purpose of interchangeability requires a thorough evaluation of their physical and functional characteristics, operational capabilities and featured tooling and technologies. Unmanned systems have increasingly been in use for applications across various fields due in general to lower operational costs, lower risks, and ease of use. Unmanned systems have also been exhibiting efficiency and success rates greater or equal to manned systems. For example, research studies have concluded that characteristics that predict success in U.S. Air Force manned aircraft pilot training predict remotely piloted aircraft pilot training results with similar level of validity (Caretta, 2013). With such high reliability, unmanned systems are ideal for applications such as conducting an air strike on a ground target, monitoring volcanic activity, apple orchard monitoring and search and rescue missions in Yosemite National Park. What are the characteristics that make unmanned systems usage an improvement over manned systems for these applications?
In the research study titled: “ Unmanned air vehicles for targeting tasks” Ashokkumar presents through basic control systems engineering principles that UAS are potentially more efficient than remotely piloted aircraft and manned aircraft as targeting systems in a battlefield (Ashokkumar, 2019). In the research study titled “ An Overview of the Volcan Project: An UAS for exploration of volcanic environments, Astuti et. al discuss how on-site measurements of volcanic gas sampling presents significant risks to researchers and the solution demonstrated UAS usage for this application (Astuti et. al, 2009). In the research study titled: “Small unmanned aerial system development and applications in precision agriculture and natural resource management”, Abd-Elrahman et. al discuss how small UAS remote sensing features offer improved capabilities for monitoring agricultural fields (Abd-Elrahman et. al., 2019). Finally, in the research study titled: “ Unmanned aerial system–assisted wilderness search and rescue mission”, Dinh et. al. discuss how UAS technological features such as computer-vision, infra-red sensors, remote sensing, and scanning have tremendously improved search and rescue mission capabilities (Dinh et. al., 2019).
Discussion
Global military combat strategies have included striking ground targets from aircraft flying at very high altitudes. A basic review of aircraft control systems indicates that autonomous aircraft maneuvering and targeting decision making systems are based on inner loop inputs controlled by an artificial intelligent system. Pilots and remote pilots’ maneuvering and targeting inputs are communicated through an outer loop (Ashokkumar, 2019). An ideal UAS to complete an air strike on a ground target is the Predator C Avenger. It is a remotely piloted combat aerial system equipped with precision strike features (General Atomics Aeronautical, n.d.).
Global volcanic activity are environmental hazards that present significant risks to humans and surrounding habitats. Volcanoes have been monitored by scientists throughout the years and the dangers of on-site measurements have led to the development and usage of small unmanned systems to monitor volcanoes and measure emitted gas samples. This has been the objective of the Vulcan Project. An ideal UAS for this application shall be customized and optimized to meet the capabilities requirement for this application. A custom-built Raven or Harriet from Vulcan UAV shall be ideal for this application. It shall be equipped with the necessary technologies and features which include an INGV sensors and data logger, altitude control and way points flight capabilities, an air data attitude and heading reference systems and compact gas instrumentations (Astuti et. al, 2009).
Apple orchard and other agricultural plantations require monitoring to prevent issues such as insects and wild animal damages, invasive plants, and irrigation deficiencies. UAS remote sensing capabilities which includes spatial, spectral, and temporal sensors have significantly improved farmers abilities to mitigate these issues (Abd-Elrahman et. al., 2019). The Vulcan UAV “Airlift” is an ideal unmanned aerial system for agricultural plantation monitoring. It is also conveniently designed for crop spraying.
Search and rescue missions are time critical. Mission costs can rise exponentially depending on the size of the search area, available resources, and resources allocations. UAS are equipped with technologies that significantly improve search effectiveness. Such technologies include infra-red sensors, mobile phone detection, wi-fi communication, video camera, radars, scanners, and other remote sensing capabilities. The efficiency of UAS have led to lower mission costs, improved scalability, and mission coordination (Dinh et. al., 2019). There are multiple commercial drones that are very well equipped for search and rescue applications but an ideal UAS for this application is the MQ-9A “Reaper”. It is as UAS designed with both autonomous and remote-piloting capabilities. It is designed for surveillance and reconnaissance missions and is equipped with very advanced sensors, scanners, and radars systems (General Atomics Aeronautical, n.d. 2).
Recommendation
An evaluation of manned versus unmanned system for the purpose of determining the most efficient system for an application requires a system approach. A definition of system evaluation criteria shall include safety, cost, duration, communications, percent efficiency, deployability, interoperability, performance characteristics, technologies, and features. Existing usage and performance records shall also be reviewed. Based on such defined criteria, unmanned systems are superior to manned systems regardless of the application because they are precisely designed and equipped with technologies that address and negate human weaknesses.
Air strikes on ground target require optimum maneuvering and targeting capabilities. UAS are capable of maneuvering and targeting capabilities well beyond manned systems. Optimization models reveal a combination of ranges, motions and trajectories that is unsafe for human pilots ( McGrew et. al., 2010). A review of basic control system engineering theories reveals that inner loop designs which characterize autonomous UAS systems generate improved response in term of speed and stability (Nise, 2008). This renders UAS decision making much quicker and potentially more efficient than manned aircraft.
UAS are built to function in environment that are hostile to humans. Monitoring volcanic activities present tremendous heath risks to humans. Volcano hiking shall be left for adventure seeking risk takers. This is a very high safety risk for humans. In contrast to human, UAS are ideal for this application because their usage mitigate safety issues including the potential loss of human lives. UAS are also equipped with technologies that are sufficient and efficient in taking necessary measurements, images and other data required for scientific analysis. Moreover, UAS have already been proven to be very efficient at predicting and measuring lava flow hazards (Turner, Perroy, & Hon, 2017).
Agricultural plantations such as apple orchards present unique characteristics depending on their size, location, and the regional weather. Monitoring these vast land areas requires navigating through the plantation on foot or on a vehicle while attempting to spot hazards, nuisances, and detrimental wildlife activities. UAS are capable of surveying these areas much quicker because of their flight capabilities. They are also equipped with remote sensing capabilities, technologies and features that are unavailable to humans. Even when factoring in ground equipment and tools, the combination of infra-red sensors, radars, scanners, camera, waypoint flight, hover mode are better suited for quick and effective monitoring sessions. UAS algorithm are built to allow the aircraft to quickly spot and investigate potential hazards. Moreover, UAS have already been proven to provide significant advantages over manned systems. Such advantages include lower data-acquisition costs, rapid deployability and closer fly-bys (Johnson et. al, 2015).
Rapid deployability, time, maneuverability, communications, obstacle avoidance and cost are among some of the most critical elements of a search and rescue mission. Manned systems are often too slow to deploy compared to UAS. Manned systems require more complex planning and extensive coordination than UAS systems. UAS are built to quickly scanned a target area, process and find defined elements and execute a desired command which include communication of a specific location to ground operatives. Unmanned systems are equipped with advanced technologies perfectly suited for search and rescue missions. Such technologies include advanced thermal sensors, infra-red sensors, mobile phone detection, wi-fi communication, radars, scanners, and advanced cameras. Moreover, UAS can be equipped with advanced human detection algorithms and technologies which render their usage a priority over manned systems (Lygouras, 2019). It is worth specifying that for search and rescue missions both manned and unmanned systems may need to be integrated for a greater result. Despite the superiority of UAS in the search phase, the rescue phase often requires human interaction depending on the circumstances and the state of the individual(s) being rescued.
Conclusion
Characteristics used to measure the efficiency and capability of manned systems reveal that unmanned systems are at least as efficient and capable as manned systems. An evaluation of the better system between manned and unmanned systems for a specific application requires a system approach. When evaluating based on defined and measured criteria such as safety, cost, deployability, UAS are superior to manned systems because they are built to negate human flaws and operate under circumstances hostile to humans. When evaluating based on tools and technologies, UAS also prove superior to manned systems because of humans' inability to match the performance capabilities of UAS technological features. When evaluating applications such as conducting an air strike on a ground target, monitoring volcanic activity, monitoring apple orchards and search and rescue missions in Yosemite National Park, UAS shall be the preferred systems because they offer greater capabilities and flexibility, improved safety parameters, rapid deployability and a much lower mission cost than manned systems.
References
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