APLAUSE - Automated Precision Loading And Unloading System Environment

APLAUSE项目专注于新兴的无人机交付市场。该项目希望在我们的工程工作的基础上，为NHS在新冠肺炎大流行期间支持无人机。我们一直与NHS合作，驾驶无人机在病理实验室和医院之间运送新冠肺炎样本、个人防护装备和其他生物毒剂。APLAUSE从事这些工作，希望为无人机建立自动装卸系统，提供一个新的人与机器的接口。无人机本身就是危险的。目前，它们是由飞行员在飞行结束时手动驾驶的。着陆是一种手动操作，只有当飞行员呼叫一切正常时，才会发生装卸阶段。这是飞行员必须按照民航局批准的操作手册中详细说明的承诺。我们对该项目的愿景是从我们之前与NHS合作伙伴的努力中吸取教训，为无人机创建自动装卸系统，该系统将经受住时间的考验，并允许我们与CAA合作，当他们从手动控制无人机过渡到自动无人机时，一名飞行员一直远程驾驶无人机，然后进入自动模式，一名飞行员在任何时候监督15架无人机的飞行。我们的主要目标是建立一个工作的演示系统，在公共资金的帮助下，这使我们能够展示无人机如何在封闭的航空环境中操作时卸货和装载新货物。通过这样做，我们将推动英国成为一个为无人机行业提供创新解决方案的国家，专注于包裹递送解决方案。我们的主要重点领域是将货物和电源装卸到无人机上，使远程操作的包裹递送航班能够完全自动化。我们需要创造一个安全的环境来自动化无人机的装卸，符合航空和商业需求和法规。APLAUSE是创新的，因为它建立在我们最初的无人机飞行的基础上，在新冠肺炎下制造，利用了CAA为我们提供的在大流行中飞行的机会，并为英国无人机和机器人行业向前迈出了重要的一步，建立了一个能够适应无人机机身和商业环境变化的解决方案。

The APLAUSE project focuses on the emerging UAV drone delivery market.The project looks to build on our engineering works to support Unmanned Air Vehicles during the COVID-19 pandemic for the NHS.We have been working with the NHS, flying UAV's carrying COVID-19 samples, PPE and other biological agents between pathology labs and hospitals.APLAUSE takes these works and looks to build automated loading and unloading systems for UAV's, providing a new man to machine interface.UAV's are inherently dangerous. At the moment they are manually flown by pilots at each end of the flight. Landing is a manual operation and the loading/unloading phase only happens when pilot calls out that all is clear. This is a commitment the pilot has to do as detailed in their operations manual as approved by the CAA.Our vision for the project it to take the learnings from our previous endeavours working with our partners within the NHS and create and automated loading and unloading system for UAV's that will stand the test of time and allow us to work with the CAA as they move from manual control of UAV's through to automatic, where one pilot flies the UAV remotely all the way and then on to autonomous mode where one pilot is overseeing 15 UAV's in flight at any one time.Our key objectives are to build a working demonstrator system, funded with help from the public purse, that enables us to demonstrate how a UAV may unload and load new cargo, whilst operating within a closed aviation environment. By doing this we will be propelling the UK forward as a country with innovative solutions for the UAV industry with a focus on parcel delivery solutions.Our main area of focus is on the loading and unloading of goods and power sources on to UAV's to enable remote operated parcel delivery flights to be fully automated. We need to create a safe environment to automate the loading and unloading of UAV's that complies to aviation and commercial needs and regulations.APLAUSE is innovative as it builds on our initial UAV flights, made under COVID-19, utilises the opportunity that the CAA has afforded us,with regards flying in a pandemic, and takes a significant step forward for the UK UAV and robotics industries alike, building a solution that can be adapted to changes in UAV airframe and commercial context alike.