Trip To Tanzania

Overview 
A few months ago, I was selected to by a sustainable volunteer program to travel to Tanzania Africa this December. In preparation for the trip, I have been learning about the culture, the laws, and the travel requirements that I will have to adhere to during my adventure. Since I am a UAS student, I am particularly interested in how Tanzania is using UAVs to serve it’s people. Therefore, this post is about Tanzania’s UAS applications.

Table of Contents
Part 1---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Fighting Malaria with UAS
Part 2--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Delivering Blood with UAS
Part 3------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Intercepting Poachers with UAS
Part 4----------------------------------------------------------Utilizing Local Resources to Construct a UAV Airframe
Part 5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tanzania Aviation Law
Part 6-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Conclusion

Fighting Malaria with UAS
Depicted in Figure 2 is a DJI Agras MG1-S spray UAV in Cheju, Tanzania. Taken from an article in Forbes Magazine, this specialized platform is designed to fight malaria which is responsible for killing 80,000 people per year. according to malariaspot.org. As being considered one of the first UAS based biological control applications in the world, could a UAS with operating limitations make a faster more cost-effective spray then manual spraying efforts?  For more information, click on the figure to be directed to the article.

Figure 1: Source Tanzania flying Labs

Delivering Blood With UAS
Sounding more like a vampire program than a UAS program, a UAS collaboration consisting of Wingcopter, DHL, and the Deutache Gesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbit (GIZ) have utilized a vertical take off and landing platforms (VTOL) to deliver blood and medical supplies to difficult to reach areas in Tanzania. Similar to efforts taken by Zipline, this method of UAS operation can help doctors save lives because instead of taking 4 hours to transport medical supplies, a Wingcopter can make the delivery in 20 minutes. To learn more, click on Figure 3 and you will be directed to their promotional video. Within it, notice how the doctors appear to be holding a transmitter upon landing of the aircraft. Why do you think they are doing that?

Figure 2: Link to DHL Wingcopter Video

Intercepting Poachers With UAS.
Taken from Drone blog.com, Tanzania has an anti-poaching initiative that involves flying UAVs over national parks, reserves and other protected areas to help security track and intercept poachers. Depicted in Figure 5 is Super Bat Da 50 UAS in front of the UAS crew and security personal. A product by Bathawk Recon this system can not only stay in the air for 8 hours, but it has several  sensors that claim to be able to easily track poachers before they arrive to the animal heards. Could this be an effective tool to combat poaching? Or is this another example of overrated technology taking advantage of Africa?

Figure 3: Superbat Da 50UAS 

Utilizing Local Resources for UAV Airframes
Taken from spectrum.com, Figure's 4 and 5 depicts Bornlove Ntikha using bamboo for the frame of his DIY UAV. Ntikha wants to show that UAVs can be built out of locally available materials which can help others learn how to construct UAVs themselves. Although this technology still requires a motherboard, a transmitter, batteries, and motor components, it is remarkable to see this take flight. If a sensor can be integrated to this platform and the UAV can be programmed to fly autonomously, nobody will care about the type of airframe as long as the UAS can perform missions safely and produce deliverables. Could this method of constructing UAVs be applied to more local Tanzanian UAS projects?

Figure 4: Bornlove Ntikha Working on a DIY UAV Using Local Resources

Tanzania Aviation Law
I am not an expert on Tanzania’s aviation law, nor am I an expert on how to interpret it, however if you are curious to see what UAS policy’s I have created a bullet list of Tanzania’s UAS laws that I could find online. In other words when regarding flying in Tanzania, you should consider the following:

• UAVs weighing Unser 15.5 lbs do not require a permit to fly
• UAVs weighing over 15.5 lbs require a special permit from the Ministry of Defense
• UAVs require insurance no matter recreational or commercial operation

Furthermore, according to drone traveler.com, Tanzania categorizes UAVs by weight and by purpose:

• Class 1: 0-11lbs
• Class 2: 11 – 55lbs
• Class 3: 55 lbs and more

Interestingly enough, it appears that there are also categories of operation as listed:

• Category 1: leisure and sport
• Category 2: private use except leisure and sport
• Category 3: commercial use

Within operation category 2 and 3, it is my understanding that UAS operators must have a pilot’s license and be 21 years or older.  If you are someone that wants to bring your UAV into Tanzania to fly, the TCAA appears to accept Part 107 licenses as an acceptable means of documentation, but you will have to do a fairly significant amount of preplanning and communication with the TCAA before you lift off. Furthermore, it appears that you will need to pay of $200 as well. Nevertheless, it is very interesting to learn about UAS law in a different country. This makes me wonder what kind of rules UAS operaters coming to our country must abide by. Lastly, Tanzanian UAS resources can be found here:

• https://static1.squarespace.com/static/59311e48bf629a7d92b39065/t/5a574bca53450ad102603b6e/1515670486660/AIC+05+-+2017+Unmanned+Aircraft+Systems.pdf
• https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293747-i9226-k10180983-Use_of_drones_in_Tanzania_not_in_NPs-Tanzania.html
• https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-in-tanzania/
• https://africandrone.org/tanzania

Conclusion
Although it each UAS application in Tanzania is powerful, interesting, and can hopefully benefit the greater good, I favor Nikha’s story the most because he is an example of Tanzania’s self sufficiency as it will hopefully be able to one day create UAS technology rather than contract out to other countries. Nevertheless, each article as well as the Tanzanian government’s efforts to regulate the UAS operations within the country demonstrate that UAS has the potential to grow in Tanzania.

Figure 5: Bornlove Ntikha Assembling his DIY UAV

GIS Day Results

Overview
As mentioned in previous posts, Purdue’s 11th annual GIS Day took place at Purdue’s Stewart Center on Thursday November 7th and featured a variety or subject matter experts from local, state, and federal companies. For roughly eight hours, I spent my time either presenting, questioning, or listening to a variety of people talk about their backgrounds in GIS and noted what deliverables they have been able to produce as well as learning why their deliverables were considered cost effective.To help further promote the UAS presence in GIS applications, I volunteered to present in front of an audience as well as enter a poster competition. Despite being my first-time attending GIS day, as well as being the only independent researcher, I earned second place in the Poster competition as shown inn Figure 1.

Figure 1: Myself (Right) Earning 2nd Place for Purdue's GIS Day Poster Presentation 

Key Takeaways
The material that I learned from this conference ranges from using GIS to survey census data to using GIS as a tool to survey erosion. In an effort to keep this content UAS related, I felt particularly interested in a presentation by Dr. Carly Sakamura from Maxar Technologies. Although this blog post fails to describe the amount of information in her presentation, she provided a unique perspective of showcasing the interest of the satellite data, and the challenges that the Maxar experiences when mapping the planet.

Although Unmanned Aerial Systems differ greatly from satellites, I was able to relate to her emphasis on the importance of collecting and interpreting accurate data let alone the data collection storage challenges that Maxar had to address. From a privacy standpoint, I found it fascinating that although satellite imagery cannot expose more than 30-centimeter accuracy, it is not because the technology cannot rather it is because the government “will not allow it”. This  leads me to reflect and believe that below 30-centimeter accuracy satellite data exists, but not for the general public.

Without harping on the above statement too much, I wonder how UAS mapping will accommodate national security interests, let alone who will be able to legally obtain highly accurate UAS data given the fact that UAS data a has potential to redefine the way we see the world. Will accurate UAS data produce the same challenges that below 30 meter satellite accuracy does? Or will the technology one day enable people to inexpensively purchase a UAV that can compete with satellite data?

Critiques and Conclusion
From a career development standpoint, I will be sure to go out of my way to participate in further GIS Day Conferences. Although my overall GIS day experience at Purdue was extremely meaningful, I hope that I can participate in future GIS day conferences where sensor specific subjects are discussed more openly. Due to the fact that I currently work with a variety of different sensors with a plethora of different applications, I think that learning about the sensors used to collect data can greatly improve my lexicon of factors to consider while planning UAS missions.

Furthermore, I hope to make it a priority to explore more open sourced software because not only is it free, open sourced software can provide solutions to problems that could otherwise cost thousands of dollars in licensing. Taken learn.g2.com, clicking on Figure 2 is a lexicon of 10 free different open source websites to consider. It looks like I will be starting there…

Figure 2: Access to learn2.com

Where Are My Pants?

Below is a snapshot of a forested area taken from a Sony RX1 sensor. Without scrolling down to the answer, can you locate the pair of navy blue jeans in Figure 1? In today's experiment, I was tasked with filtering thousands of images such as the two below to help compare manual image selection to automated image selection through a scanning software called Loc8.

Figure 1: Can you Find the Jeans in This Image?

Although manually filtering through images was time consuming, and the jeans are difficult to see,  this proof of concept depicts that UAV software could be invented to quickly locate objects from pixel clusters. Or.... maybe software like this already exits? Nevertheless, I thought it was incredibly interesting  learning about UAS related search and rescue applications, and as much as I wish I was allowed to talk about it more, I will gladly refer you to Loc8's website for further exploration.  

Figure 2: Location of Jeans After Manual Search

Capstone Assignment 7: Products Methods and Updates for GIS Day

Overview

As the deadline for Purdue’s GIS day approaches, I have been hard at work collecting data for a poster presentation that will focus on planning UAS missions using GIS technology in terrain  environments. In an effort to showcase the significance of my findings, I have developed scenarios that help validate the need for GIS technology in UAS applications which are found in the table of contents below.

Table of Contents

Scenario 1----------------------------------------------------------------------Determining a Mission Based Upon Airspace

Scenario 2-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Planning a UAS Mission Over a Road

Scenario 3----------------------------------------------------------------------Enhancing Public Relations Before a Mission
Scenario 4----------------------------------------------------------------Estimating Line of Sight to Keep Eyes on the UAV
Scenario 5-----------------------------------------------------------------------------Applying GIS Software to UAS Software

Scenario 1

From an aviation law standpoint, A UAS operation under FAA Part 107 has many regulations that you must adhere to otherwise you could face penalties, lawsuits, or even jail time. With that being known, you have a general understanding of the regulations in place depicted in Figure 1. * Note  you can obtain waivers from FAA regulations as described in the “FAA Webinars” section of this website.

Figure 1: 10 Main Parts of Part 107

In this scenario a client wants you to collect aerial imagery of flooding along the Weber River depicted in Figure 2. What items should be considered as you use GIS to preplan this mission? 

Figure 2: Weber River Proposed Area of Operation

Although there appears to be several areas for a UAV to operate, it is vital that you check the airspace. Using the Portal function in ArcGIS Pro, you can import a file called FAA sectional Chart Data and overlay it to the proposed area of operation depicted in Figure 3. 

Figure 3:Weber River Overlay with FAA Sectional Chart Data 

Indicated by the red Star, the proposed area of operation is within Class Delta Controlled Airspace. When referring to FAA Part 107.41 it is vital that you receive permission to fly in this airspace because of the blue dashed lines and the two airports within the proximity of the proposed area of operation. After discovering that you are in Class Delta Airspace, you will now have to figure out how to receive permission from air traffic control to safely fly within the airspace. 

Another Feature that you can import form the Portal of ArcGIS Pro is the Low Altitude and Notification Capability (aka LAANC) Data. LAANC is a software that can be utilized to automatically receive permission to fly a UAS in near real time. Depicted in Figure 4 is what LAANC data looks like after imported as a File called FAA_UAS_FacilityMap_Data. Focusing on the box around the star, you can click on this data to open a window which shows the maximum elevation you are allowed to operate your UAV at. In this specific area, the maximum elevation is 0 so in order to operate in this area legally, you will have to acquire a certified of authorization (COA) to operate a UAV in this area. Within the same pop up, you can access the airport’s name which you can then contact to begin the COA process. 

Figure 4: LAANC Data Derived from Arcgis Pro 

Scenario 2 

Referring to Figure 5, your area of interest and your UAV launch site are divided by a road. Focusing on this division before you arrive to the proposed area of operation, platforms such as Esri ArcGIS Pro can help understand traffic conditions near the launch site. If the road does not have a lot of traffic, it is possible that you can have the UAV cross the road without violating FAA Part 107.39. If the road does have a lot of traffic, you might want to consider a different launch site.

                 Figure 5: UAS Operation Across Road

Furthermore, ArcGIS Pro has the ability to visualize traffic in real time which could help you plan the trip to the mission as well as determine times of day where traffic is slow. Depicted in Figure 6 is a World Traffic Surface raster I added with the data. Combined with adding a world street map, I found that the name of the road is US Route 310 and at the time I added the raster, there was heavy traffic going both ways. 

Figure 6: Esri Arc Pro Predicting Heavy Traffic

Scenario 3

Before the introduction of Part 107, a recreational UAV crashed causing property damage near a house within a small community. Despite having no association to this incident, you the community has expressed concern after hearing about a proposed terrain analysis operation in the area you see in Figure 7. Using Arc Gis Pro, what tool can you use to assist your company in convincing the community that this proposed operation is safe? 

Figure 7: Focusing on a Neighborhood with a Negative UAS Perception

Depicted in Figure 8 is a layer you can obtain from the portal section of ArcGIS Pro. When you click on the houses, you can obtain address information. Address information could enable you to send the community data supporting your company’s values of transparency, ethics, and safety before the proposed UAV operation. This can enhance your credibility as an aviation professional as well as potentially attract new clients. Likewise, I purposely redacted the address I found to keep those people's information private.  Although I am still learning to geocode housing data of this website, I believe that you can import it from online data sources or find it deep within the portal section of ArcGis Pro. 

Figure 8: Obtaining Housing Addresses to Notify Community About UAV Operation

Scenario 4

To reduce the workload of the visual observers that you employ for a UAV operation on a mountain, you are asked to figure out optimal locations that they spectate in order to maintain eye contact with the UAV (As required in FAA part 107.31). In this scenario, you can utilize the line of site tool in ArcGIS Pro to troubleshoot, estimate, and place visual observers which can reduce the amount of overall field time. Unlike the viewshed tool, the line of site tool can depict the specific direction one has towards a floating object such as a UAV. Depicted in Figure 9 is an estimate of a visual observer's perspective from a UAV that was set to a distance of 1,000 feet away and 350 feet above ground level.  

Figure 9: Utilizing the Line of Site Tool in ArcGIS Pro

Scenario 5

The final scenario in this post and a key deliverable of my report, this mission is currently being tested and includes exporting data from Esri Arc Pro to mission planning software for the C-Astral Bramor PPX. If done correctly, accurate, up to date geospatial data can be added to the Bramor which will enable it to have a safer and more efficient flight in terrain induced environments. Depicted in Figure 10 is a screenshot of the simulated mission scenario so far. In the upcoming weeks, my goal is to demonstrated a fully simulated mission with the Bramor PPX flying over geospatial Data processed in Arc Pro. 

Figure 10: Perspective Taken From C'astral's Mission Planning Software

Capstone Assignment 6: Why Unmanned Aerial Systems?

A standalone degree in Purdue University's Polytechnic Institute, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) encompasses a multitude of subjects, skills, and activities that challenge students to maximize the applications, data, and relevance of UAV technology in a professional an innovative way. While balancing factors such as the rapidly changing business arena, consumer needs, and aviation law, this degree will produce cost effective solutions to problems that were once deemed impossible to address. In a "typical" UAS activity, I am expected to critically consider factors shown in Figure 1. Although Unmanned Aerial Systems can be both way more and way less complex depending on the operation, I am one of the few that get to directly engage in this type of workflow each day.

Figure 1: UAS Topics

With a combination of multimodal training approaches, research opportunities, and hands on field experience, I have earned presentation time slots at research conferences throughout the last two years. As part of the tradition, I am in charge of designing my own poster, but in the case of  preparing a poster for Purdue's GIS Day I also worked a team of 10 to create a Capstone poster in 2 hours. Shown below in Figure 2 is the PDF version of the Capstone poster which demonstrates the deliverables of UAS data specific to our department.  

Figure 2:  AT 409 Capstone Poster

Airspace Explained from a UAS Perspective

Perhaps one of the most important yet constantly confused subjects in UAS, the U.S. National Airspace System is a fairly organized yet complicated network of active aircraft. Therefore, this post is an attempt clarify any misunderstandings about airspace by incorporating  videos, figures from the FAA, and text quoted from the  Pilots Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge  (PHAK) which are linked accordingly.

Types of Airspace
Taken from the PHAK and the FAA AIM, the categories of airspace are: regulatory and non regulatory.

• Regulatory airspace includes Restricted, Prohibited and various classes (Class A, B, C, D, and E) airspace- These are the areas where FAA regulations are in place.
• Nonregulatory airspace includes MOAs (military operations area), warning areas, alert areas, and controlled firing areas.

Within these two categories, there are four types: controlled, uncontrolled, special use, and other
airspace. Shown in Figure 1 are graphics of airspace Class A-E. Below the figure is a breakdown of each airspace.

Figure 1: Airspace Diagram taken from faa.gov

Class A Airspace 
 Is the highest airspace and extends from 18,000 to 60,000 feet above mean sea level (MSL). Although it is extremely rare for UAS operations to take place here, systems such as the Global Hawk and Ikhana do. 
Class B Airspace

Generally encompass the busiest airports and can extend from the surface to 10,000 feet MSL. If you are planning to operate an sUAS in class B airspace, you must have at least one of the following:

•  An airspace authorization from LAANC
•  An airspace authorization from Dronezone
• A specific FAA waiver
• A well written COA   

Shown below is a short video taken from the FAA that explains how to identify class B airspace on a sectional chart.

                                                                                                                   

Video: Class B Airspace

Class C Airspace 

Surrounds area from the surface to 4,000 feet above airports that have an operational control tower. 

Although the configuration of each Class C area is individually tailored, the airspace usually consists of a surface area with a five NM radius, and an outer circle with a ten NM radius that extends from 1,200 feet to 4,000 feet above the airport elevation. If you are planning to operate an sUAS in class C airspace, you must have at least one of the following:

•  An airspace authorization from LAANC
•  An airspace authorization from Dronezone
• A waiver
• A well written COA   

Shown below is a short video taken from the FAA that explains how to identify class C airspace on a sectional chart.      

Video: Class C Airspace

Class D Airspace

 Extends from the surface to 2,500 feet at airports that have an operational control tower. Depending on the airport, some towers close which can cause the surrounding airspace to switch from class D to Class E. Therefore a UAS operator must make sure they know what airspace they are in the time of their operation. If you are planning to operate an sUAS in class D airspace, you must have at least one of the following:

•  An airspace authorization from LAANC
•  An airspace authorization from Dronezone
• A well written COA
• A waiver 

Shown below is a short video taken from the FAA that explains how to identify class D airspace on a sectional chart.

Video: Class D Airspace

Class E Airspace
This airspace can exist both around airports and above the ending of class G airspace. To better depict his, divide class E into categories.

1. Class E Surface Airspace- this exists around airports starting at the surface.
• If you are operating in surface class E airspace, you will need an airspace authorization from the FAA to fly. 
2. Class E Outer Surface- this airspace exists away from airports and typically begins at 1,200 feet AGL
• If you are operating in outside surface class E airspace, you do not need airspace authorization from the FAA to fly.

Shown below is a short video taken from the FAA that explains how to identify class E airspace on a sectional chart.  

Video: Class E Airspace

Furthermore, be aware where class E airspace ends and where class G airspace begins. Referring to Figure 2, airspace within the magenta circle indicates that class G airspace starts from the surface to 699 feet while class E airspace starts at 700 feet. Outside of the circle, class G airspace starts at the surface to 1,199 feet while class E airspace starts at 1,200 feet.

Figure 2: Class E Airspace

Class G Airspace
If you are not at in Class A-E airspace, or within a Restricted/Prohibited or Military airspace, you are likely in Class G airspace. Class G is Uncontrolled Airspace therefore you do not need FAA permission to fly. Shown below is a short video taken from the FAA that explains how to identify class E airspace on a sectional chart.

Video: Class G Airspace

Conclusion
Being able to identify airspace is vital to UAS operations. More often then not, numerous and perhaps infamous UAS related incidents have occurred simply because operators were unaware of the airspace that they were flying in. With the introduction of LAANC and changing FAA regulations, we will one day have to consider if an air traffic control system specific to UAVs will exist despite knowing the fact that an aircraft can land in close proximity to UAVs and vice versa. Nevertheless, having a solid understand of airspace will enhance your credibility as a professional UAS pilot. 

Parachute 101

In the upcoming week, I will be publishing a video on how to correctly fold a parachute for the C-Astral Bramor PPX. Since this is a fairly complicated process, I have spent days collecting data and working on ways to communicate the content in the most effective way. Since the C-Astral depends on using a parachute to land, it is essential that the training content is as clear and as informative as possible. To help better understand the components of the parachute, I modified a diagram taken from the C-Astral Bramor's online user manual, transcribed it into Microsoft Word and then saved as it as image for you to see below.

Capstone Assignment 5: Preparing for GIS Day November 7th

Overview

Taken from the Purdue GIS day website, Purdue Libraries hosts a GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Day celebration every November as a local component of a greater international event. In this context, “GIS,” is defined as a collection of software applications, hardware devices and data sensors, that have the capability to generate maps, statistical data, and digital mapping based upon  proprietary software and open-sourced workflow. As mentioned in Assignment 4, I am currently in the process of demonstrating how GIS can be applied to planning terrain intense missions with UAV systems such as the C-Astral Bramor PPX. Therefore, the purpose of this post is to provide you an update of discoveries I have made using a variety of tools from Esri Arc Pro.

The Need Proper Mission Planning

Throughout this Capstone Project, proper mission planning is vital to creating a safe and efficient UAS operation. In the context of planning missions in areas deemed difficult or inaccessible for humans, using GIS to plan UAS missions can save the client an immense amount of time and money before the UAS team arrives on sight. Why? Throughout my experiences operating UAS missions, there is usually an unknown variable that can cause the mission to take longer than the anticipated time. Wouldn't it be nice to mitigate most of the unknowns on a computer screen rather than climbing a mountain? 

The Tools I have Tested for Mission Planning

From an in the office mission planning perspective, I believe simple tools used in ArcGis Pro can help you determine issues such as learning elevation values, anticipating greater obstacles, and accounting for FAA Regulations. Although some of these items may be retrieved from Google Earth, ArcGIS Pro is the only software that can provide analysis of the environment without having to search different websites. To learn more, take a look the tools that I have used to combat common UAS related Problems. 

1) Classifying Terrain Values from A Clipped Raster.                                                                         The Problem: Depicted in Figure 1 are two areas of elevated terrain, from standing at Mountain A, you think that your UAV can fly directly over an area of interest at Mountain B. Aside from testing this theory on the field, how can you guarantee the UAV doesn't crash on the side of Mountain B?  

Figure 1: Can the UAV make it to Point B without Crashing?

The Solution: Classify the image to derive values from the Terrain. Depicted in Figure 2 (at a slightly different perspective) are values I could identify based on classification from a layer in a summarized elevation feature. Since the layer is from an Elevation Database, the height of the mountains are fairly accurate. Furthermore, the color coordination can help a mission planner instantly focous in an area of interest based on the needs of the mission rather than clicking on random points of the mountain to retive values.

 Figure 2: Classifying Elevation Values to Avoid Collition

2) Adding Layers from the USA hydrology database, the USA National Hydrology Database, and the World Terrain reference data base. 

The problem: Depicted in Figure 3 is a satellite image of a mountain without overlayed datasets. From a mission planning perspective, it be helpful to answer questions such as;

• Where can I access the mountain via vehicle?
• Do I have to worry about runoff that can be found in valleys?
• Will I be flying over vehicles that can potentially interfere with FAA regulation Part 107.39?

Figure 3: Perspective Without Overlayed Data

The Solution: Thanks to overlaying the terrain with different databases, you can easily see access roads, a highway, and areas where water can interfere with mountain access and data collection. Figure 4 makes it significantly more easier determining answers to the questions in the problem. 

 Figure 4: Perspective With Multiple Datasets

3) Create Profile Views to enhance situational awareness and observer placement

    The Problem: Mission planning lacks data to analyze the terrain of a mountain. Using the Profile        Geoprocessing tool, you can create lines that can tell you the slope of the mountain at various              intervals. Depicted in Figure 5 are red profile lines numbered 1-4.    

Figure 5: Red Profile Lines 

The Profile lines can then be transcribed to a graph which can help a mission planner determine the various areas of clearance for both the drone and help visual observers know the easier and harder places to access the mountains. Below are the graphs calculated in reference from the profile lines. Notice how the mountain changes shape along with its elevation. *In future data collection, I will compute these values in a single graph. 

Figure 6: Profile 1 Graph

Figure 7: Profile 2 Graph

Figure 8: Profile 3 Graph

                                                                                  Figure 9: Profile 4 Graph

4) Use the Viewshed tool to estimate visual line of sight

    The Problem: Time and safety are compromised when a UAV cannot be found in the air.                      Wouldn't it be nice to estimate where to stand before you are on the field? Using the Viewshed             tool, you can troubleshoot and estimate optimal pilot and visual observer placement before you           climb a mountain to realize that trees are in the way.  Depicted in Figure 10 is a red point                      representing a person who is 5 foot 7 and can see up to 2,000 feet. If the same assumptions are            made with the Purple and Black point in Figure 11, who can see the mountain better?  

Figure 10: Location of Human at Red Point

With the Viewshed turned on, the Pink area depicts what the human could see at the given elevation  in Figure 11.

Figure 11: Estimated Area a Human Can See from Mountain Top

Across the river on the opposite side is the location of the human facing the mountain depicted by the purple and black dot in Figure 12. Demonstrated in Figure 13, notice the estimated greater amount of view the person has represented by the pink color

Figure 12: Location of Human Facing Bottom of Mountain

Figure 14: Estimated Area a Human can see from Bottom of Mountain

Tools that I want to Test for Mission Planning 

Currently I am working on a way overlay the layers I have created to the C-Astral Bramor PPX Mission Planning Software (C^2P3). If successful, I can perform a live simulation that will provide a crew customize perspectives to better understand the environment of their mission before they get to the field to operate. Therefore I have more work to do and mission planning can encompass more than the mission itself. For example, depicted in Figure 14 is an area where houses are located as well as what appears to be an area for power lines shown in the red oval. 

From a Public Relations standpoint, if you are engaging in a long term UAS operation for a community that is unfamiliar UAVs, wouldn't it be nice to send a courtesy letter to the houses you see below? If it is possible, I am going to attempt to explore GIS programs to see if its possible to gather the addresses of the the neighborhood. Furthermore, power-lines and cellphone towers can be hazardous to UAS operations so I hope to use Arc Pro to see if I can depict power sources or areas of high electromagnetic interference easier. 

  Figure 15: Neighborhood and Power lines

Conclusion 
It is obvious that GIS can have significant advantages to identifying and depicting important items in mission planning. In future posts, I plan to generate a map of an complex terrain mission and show how the data collected from the tools can help answer preplanning questions before the UAS team is deployed on the field. Furthermore I plan to exploit these resources create tutorials on how to use this software for UAS operations specific to the C-Astral Bramor PPX.

Capstone Assignment 4 Part 1: Putting Together an Introduction

Overview

As previous blog posts have noted, I am heavily invested in research for improving the safety of UAS operations. As the weeks progress, you will notice significant GIS applications that will be used to demonstrate training scenarios, mission planning, and aviation law, but for now, below is an early draft of an introduction to creating effective training content. 

Capstone Bibliography Introduction Draft

Training material for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) is often vague, meticulous, and difficult for users to comprehend. Whether consulting difficult to read manuals, YouTube, or online discussion boards, striking a balance between establishing a clear and concise training process without sacrificing procedures vital to the safety of a UAS operation has been a reoccurring challenge that has proven costly to the UAS industry (Wyman 2019). As a result, poorly trained UAS personal have violated FAA regulations in the form of unauthorized flights, accidents, and lawsuits. 

According to UAS sightings report data produced by the FAA, manned aviation pilots submit more than 100 UAV sightings each month (UAS Sightings Report 2019). Although the sightings fail to clarify the type of UAS operation that occurred, airborne UAVs are not authorized to fly in the proximity of an active manned aircraft even if the manned aircraft are in the path of a UAV. Other examples of unauthorized flights include UAVs operating in airspace reserved for commercial aircraft, restricted airspace, prohibited areas, or areas with temporary flight restrictions. Referring to a United States database documenting UAV incident articles, there are numerous accounts of military, civilian, and Part 107 personal that have violated airspace regulations (World Wide Drone Incidents 2019).

In some cases, unauthorized flights lead to UAV accidents but in any case, UAV accidents tend to be a result of pilot error, lack of situational awareness, or poor mission planning assessments. This leads to the question, do you think UAS pilots have documented safety procedures in place to keep accountability for their actions? If so, are public, environmental, operator qualifications, crew resource management, and aviation law adjusted to suit to specific missions? Chances are, unless UAS operators are exposed to clear, concise, and free training material, how likely is it that the operators who need training content will pay for it let alone be able to comply with the rules of the National Airspace System?

From an aviation law standpoint, there are few free resources that address UAV related issues, and the most resources fail to stay up to date with current FAA regulations. As a result, UAV related lawsuits are on the rise (Consumer Safety Guide 2019). Although it is unclear what audience of UAV operators cause the lawsuits, one of the most costly was the result of a commercial UAS company flying UAVs in airspace without the correct authorization. Had the operators within the company been educated about airspace and aviation law, they could have easily avoided a 1.9-million-dollar suit from the FAA (Daileda 2017).

To combat the outcomes of poor training material, I must demonstrate, provide, and deliver free clear and concise training material from a smaller scale. Therefore, my first objective will be to create multimodal training content for specific UAS platforms, the C-Astral Bramor PPX and the DJI Matrice 600. After producing deliverables such as step by step how to videos, Power-points, Diagrams, and improved user manuals, my second objective will be to create a best practice training program that can be applied to commercial UAS systems defined by FAA part 107.

References

Daileda, C. (2017, January 18). The FAA just settled one of the biggest drone lawsuits ever.                            Retrieved September 5, 2019, from https://mashable.com/2017/01/18/huge-drone-lawsuit-settled/.

Drone Lawsuits on the Rise. (2019, May 21). Retrieved September 10, 2019, from                                             https://www.consumersafetyguide.com/news/drone-lawsuits-on-the-rise/.

FAA Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS). (2014, September 14).                                    Retrieved September 15, 2019, from https://www.asias.faa.gov/apex/f?                                                  p=100:446:::NO:446::.

UAS Sightings Report. (2019, July 22). Retrieved September 9, 2019, from                                                         https://www.faa.gov/uas/resources/public_records/uas_sightings_report/.

World Wide Drone Incidents. (2019, January 1). Retrieved September 9, 2019, from                                           https://www.dedrone.com/resources/incidents/all.  

Wyman, O. (2018, October 15). Why The Use Of Drones Still Faces Big Regulatory Hurdles.                             Retrieved September 10, 2019, from                                                                                                        https://www.forbes.com/sites/oliverwyman/2018/09/10/why-the-use-of-drones-still-faces big-regulatory-hurdles/#7a6ff3451c0d. 

Capstone Assignment 4 Part 2:Creating an ArcGIS Story Map

Overview

In settings that require short missions with little terrain, google earth is often used as a go tool for in the office mission planning.  For my eventual presentation at Purdue's GIS Day, I am going to talk about GIS tools that can be used to preplan Missions for complex environments such as mountains. These tools can help you save time determining items such as sensor calibration, flight paths, visual observer placement, and other mission planning strategies that must be considered while fling in areas with challangeing tereain. For a sneak Peak, Click on the Link below and you will be directed to my ArcGIS Story Map. 

Capstone Assignment 3: Digging in Deeper Using Online Databases

Overview

Throughout this week, I was tasked with creating an annotated bibliography for my capstone project which involves creating and improving training content for Unmanned Aerial Systems. Per instructions of the capstone project professor, I first had to collect data by selecting online databases and write a paragraph critique of each database. Shown in Figure 1 are the names of five databases encased in color coded icons that you see in the google slides. When you click on the names of the databases, you will be directed to a paragraph description of each database along with annotated sources and critiques of each source. 

Figure 2: Online Databases and Source Archive

Figure 2 depicts the keyword search process as well as the color coded search engines to easily distinguish the progression of general to specific material that I was able to gather. Due to the fact that commercial UAS is relatively new, finding articles explaining how to create meaningful training material was difficult to explore despite using the 5 different search engines shown in Figure 1. Nevertheless, I was able to use a combination of Ted talks, Research articles, and journal entries to help enhance my understanding on how to improve my methods in creating online training content

Figure 2: Online Database Keyword Progression

Training Tutorial Video 3 Critique 

The following video was recorded before I gathered sources for the annotated bibliography. Compared to Bramor PPX Tutorial 2, the language fluctuated less, and there were more sub-videos within the main video. In addition, the language sounded more confident rather than boring. Furthermore, this video is twice as long as Bramor PPX Tutorial 1 and Tutorial 2 but is less than 6 minutes. Despite having a longer recording time, the overall time it took to edit the video took me less time than creating Tutorial 1 and Tutorial 2.

In future videos, I will likely  create objectives or introduce content by identifying key components of a system before shoeing a demonstration. Since most of the sources I have read in the annotated bibliography suggested taking data from participants, I will attempt to send out questions to audiences that watch my videos. Furthermore, I will include more effects by using Camtasia studio to edit my content. Click on the video below to access the Battery Tutorial of the C-Astral Bramor PPX.

Bramor PPX Battery Tutorial