Unmanned Systems Geospatial Applications

  Week 15 M210 Training and Field Outing Report. ­ ­­­­ Introduction: During week 15 of AT 209, our class met North of Purdue University at Professor Hupy’s house. During this lab we demonstrated our ability to use the M210 Platform with the Z30 and XT2 Sensors in order to find the “downed helicopter pilot”. Essentially there were three teams, the downed helicopter pilot, the hunters, and the team flying the M300. The objective of the helicopter pilot was to stay hidden from both the hunters as well as the drone. And the hunters and the drone team were going head-to-head in trying to find the downed helicopter pilot before the other. Field Outing: Figure 1: This picture shows the M210 fixed with the XT2 and Z30 sensors used in the “Search and Rescue Mission” Vegetative cover at Professor Hupy’s house was a well wooded area, including a lot of trees, creeks, and bushes. Hazards included the wooded area, reflective sur...

  Week 13 Mavic 2 Pro Training and Field Outing Report ­ ­­­­ Introduction: During week 13 of AT 209, our class met at the North end of Martell Forest near Purdue University. During this lab our flight groups demonstrated our proficiency with the Mavic platform through a series of maneuvers and practices described by Professor Hupy. The first practice we had to demonstrate was the ability to fly at different altitudes and manually set the under/over exposure of photographs. The next maneuver I had to demonstrate was taking a 360-degree picture of the horizon at 400 feet. And the las maneuver demonstrated was flying the perimeter of Martell Forest while taking pictures, while being cautious of hazards including other flight crews, power lines, trees, and anything else that may interfere with flight. Field Outing: Figure 1: This picture is a good representation of the vegetation at Martell Forest during flight with the Mavic 2 Pro Vegetative cover at Martell Forest was a gr...

Week 11 Bramor Training and Field Outing Report ­ ­­­­ Introduction During week 11 of AT 209, our class met at the North end of Martell Forest near Purdue University. Our class includes 3 flight crews, however only crew 3 was able to fly during this lab time. Upon arrival to the mission area crew 3 began by setting up the catapult and assembling the airframe. They then completed the Bramor preflight checklist and launched the aircraft. Upon recovery of the aircraft, we ran out of time to complete any more flights during the designated lab time. Similar to our week 6 field outing, we learned that it is important to work together as a team to effectively and efficiently set up the Bramor. Following the checklist step by step is among the most important things for a team to follow because it ensures all systems are working properly and will lead to a successful and safe mission, if a crew were to skip a step it could lead to an in-flight malfunction or worst-case scenario a crash....

Introduction to ArcGis ArcGis Earth Software allows users to interact with Geospatial data using different basemaps, live satellite data, map layers, terrain information, and general topographical information. In Relation to mission planning ArcGis can be a very useful tool in surveying the mission area prior to stepping foot in the field. Within ArcGis Earth we can Zoom in on a specific area and with the basemap "Terrain with Labels" we can find the elevation of the area and what it will look like.  Two more useful tools contained within ArcGis are Viewshed and Line of Sight. Line of sight allows the PIC to choose a point at which they will be standing during flight and then add points that will show whether or not the PIC or VO will be able to see beyond a certain point due to the terrain or any obstructions. The next is Viewshed which is an analytical tool that shows the area that is visible from a certain point. You can change the color scheme or parameters in order to se...

  Part 1: Discussion of CRM, Communications, and Checklists. Crew Resource Management (CRM) is the effective use of all available resources to lead to an efficient and safe operation. Within the system of CRM, there are many components including procedures, communication, problem-solving,   checklists, and teamwork. Procedures include designating the roles and duties for any position within the crew, that way whoever is acting in a specific position within the team knows exactly what their role is and how they need to interact with the team to maximize efficiency. Checklists are among one of the more important components found within CRM because not only do they minimize error, but they promote effective communication and cross-checking to make sure important steps are not overlooked. CRM, Communications, and checklists are not separate entities, they all interact in a way that leads to the desired outcome of the team it is being used in.   Creating Our Own CRM Desi...