Design, control, and automation of UAV airships for disaster monitoring

救援行动或救援工作的有效协调取决于获得当地、最新和准确的地面情况信息的能力。在灾区航行有时被证明是不切实际的，如果不是不可能的话，就像日本地震和海啸或卡特里娜飓风之后的情况一样。随着有限的载人搜索和救援资产，急救人员越来越多地将无人机(UAV)作为成本效益高的替代或补充载人操作。2013年5月，在萨斯喀彻温省农村发生车祸后，首次报道了民用无人机(UAV)拯救了一个人的生命。鉴于无人机的固有优势，拟议的研究计划的目标是开发飞艇无人机系统，为地面战役提供长期的灾害监测支持。该计划将研究飞艇开发、电源管理系统、制导、导航和控制战略、部署能力和地理参考方法。起伏不定的环境条件阻止了低空飞行器可靠地依赖可再生太阳能系统作为主要电力来源。为了解决这个问题，申请人的研究团队开发了一系列混合动力推进系统，与纯电力系统相比，该系统可以将低空无人飞艇的飞行时间和航程延长600%以上。使用这项技术，一艘六米长的飞艇将能够在加油前运行三天。这种高水平的耐力预计将显著提高飞艇无人机执行监视和侦察任务的生存能力。拟议的研究计划中概述的项目包括基础和实验研究，以实现使用飞艇无人机机队监测环境状况和自然灾害或人为灾难后的救援工作的长期愿景，以及其他应用，如环境研究、自然资源保护、警务、边境巡逻和交通监测。该计划将解决在加拿大操作无人机的挑战，并将为有抱负的未来无人机系统领导者提供一个多学科的研究培训环境。

The effective coordination of a rescue operation or relief effort depends on the ability to obtain local, up-to-date, and accurate information of the situation on the ground. Navigating disaster areas can sometimes prove impractical if not impossible, as was the case following the Japanese earthquake and tsunami or hurricane Katrina. With limited manned search and rescue assets, first responders are increasingly eyeing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as cost-effective alternatives or complements to manned operations. In May 2013, the first ever account of a civilian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) saving a person's life was reported following a car accident in rural Saskatchewan. Given the inherent advantages of UAVs, the objective of the proposed research program is to develop airship UAV systems to provide long-term disaster monitoring support to ground-based campaigns. The program will investigate airship development, power management systems, guidance, navigation and control strategies, deployment capabilities, and georeferencing methods. Fluctuating environmental conditions prevent low-altitude vehicles from reliably depending on regenerative solar systems as a primary source of electrical power. To address this problem, the applicant's research team has developed a series hybrid propulsion system that could extend the flight time and range of low-altitude unmanned airships by over 600% when compared to purely electric systems. Using this technology, a six meter airship would be able to operate for three days before refuelling. This high level of endurance is expected to significantly increase the viability of airship UAVs for surveillance and surveyance missions. The projects outlined in the proposed research program involve both fundamental and experimental research towards the long-term vision of using fleets of airship UAVs for monitoring environmental conditions and relief efforts following natural or man-made disasters, and other applications such as environmental research, natural resource protection, policing, border patrol, and traffic monitoring. This program will address challenges of operating UAVs in Canada and will provide a multidisciplinary research training environment for aspiring future leaders in unmanned aircraft systems.