AST May 2018 Magazine Issue Volume 23 | Page 72

Volume 23
The Coast Guard and S & T worked with
May 2018 Edition
AeroVironment , one of the two companies manufacturing drones specifically designed for maritime operations .
Normally , the UAS wings separate from the fuselage after landing
Mapping technology is very useful for various DHS mission scenarios such as change detection , oil spills , search and rescue , and post-storm damage assessments .
The Singing River Island facility is available for maritime evaluations of drones only to DHS through a contract partnership with Mississippi State University .
AeroVironment demonstrated their payload products and prototypes during the VIP day , which they flew against mission scenarios that S & T and the Coast Guard generated .
Another important scenario is search and rescue ( SAR ).
S & T and the Coast Guard evaluated the ability of AeroVironment drones , called Puma All Environment ( AE ), to detect anchored rafts and simulated people in the water targets that are heated so that infrared cameras can detect them .
The new i45 camera has the ability to autonomously provide a down-looking preset , called NADIR Mode , that was successfully used to map out a search area and detect targets .
“ We need to investigate what kind of payloads can be integrated on these drones , not just for Coast Guard ’ s mission scenarios , but for DHS as well ,” said Stephen Dunn , research scientist who evaluates the Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems ( sUAS ) for the Coast Guard ’ s Research and Development Center .
“ If an operator was doing this , he would be looking here or there , zooming in and out , and there is a chance he can miss a target ,” said Dunn .
” With the autonomous camera , your coverage is 100 percent of the search area .”
“ For maritime applications , it would be best if drones can land safely on water ,” said Dunn .
“ We want to be able to throw them in the air , land them on the water , pick them up , change the battery , and throw them again .”
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