The ERAU AVRL simulation tool helps explores
the design, assembly, and simulation of different Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
for different missions such as a missing hiker at the Yosemite, Agricultural
survey and Crash lab inspection. For this activity, I selected the Virtual
Crash Lab which involves inspecting a crashed Boeing 737. I selected to
assemble and simulate three different UAS to assess their performance in this
crash site environment.
The first UAS I
tried using for this mission was the Tern fixed-wing UAS. I added a
brushless electric motor, auto control, a GPS module, dipole antenna, EO camera
with gimbal, temperature sensor, ERA Powerhouse 10000 battery. For the GCS, I
used the GCS Trailer and large Dipole antenna. I, however, found the Tern fixed-wing UAS unsuitable due to the fact that it flew past the crash site very fast
and did not enable for a good view or assessment of the crash site. Because
the crash site was also located over a small area. The UAS was also limited to
a certain turn radius. When selecting waypoints for automated flights, a
warning that the turn or angle would exceed the maximum turn radius of the
aircraft.
Next, I tried
the Gadfly quadcopter UAV with an empty weight of 1.6 lbs and a max weight of
3.562lbs. I added an X5 Red Electric motor, auto control, NDVI, and PSI 0015 IR
Cameras, ERA Enterprise 2300 battery, Dipole antenna, and a GPS Module. The
total takeoff weight was 2.5lbs, 900 m radio range, and about 18 mins of flight
time. The big problem with the Gadfly quadcopter UAV was that both the NDVI and
PSI 0015 IR cameras were attached and fixed to the UAS. This hindered viewing
the crash site from different angles especially when the UAS was flying out of
direct view of the crash site. The result is an incomplete picture or view of
the crash site.
The man-portable and handheld GCS enabled the operator to have a direct view of the UAS around the crash, unlike the Trailer type GCS. This can enable the operator to make adjustments when necessary especially when flying in manual control mode.
Morning Anthony,
ReplyDeleteNicely written blog for this weeks discussion/blog topic in support of the ARVL lab. If nothing else, I have learned more on how to use the ARVL sim program and hopefully for the rest of the semester, would be able to produce improve results for the homework assignments. I was able to get my best results using the GANNET UAS, but still had control issues/jerking motions with the UAS and the EO camera, using the keyboard buttons. In the real world, this would relate to improper stick control (as far as an human factor issue), that could cause problems for a pilot/sensor operator during UAS operations. Once again, thank-you for sharing your information.
M.McGhee