Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Content
Introduction: An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a kind of air plane that has no pilot to
drive and even no onboard crew or passengers. In simple words, it has no person on board.
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), recognizing that the technology requires ground
control stations, refers to them as “UAS” or unmanned aircraft systems. There are many other
names for these aircrafts such as, UAS (unpiloted air system), and UAV (unpiloted aerial
vehicle). These aircrafts are classified into two types by ICAO (International Civil Aviation
Organization):
1. Autonomous aircraft.
2. Remotely piloted aircraft.
As the name suggests, the autonomous aircrafts are controlled autonomously by onboard
computers whereas, remotely piloted aircraft flights are controlled by the remote control of
a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. In the past, remotely piloted aircrafts were used
frequently, but their growth has been limited now. On the other hand, a UAV has some degree
of ‘automatic intelligence.’ If a fault occurs in any of the sub-systems or components, the
UAV may be designed automatically to take corrective action and/or alert its operator to the
event. For example, in an event that the radio communication between the operator and the
UAV is broken, then the UAV may be programmed to search for the radio beam and reestablish contact or to switch to a different radio frequency band if the radio-link is duplexed.
[1] These aircrafts are different from other missiles and ordnance because they are designed
so that they could come back after performing their designated tasks and be used again for
other applications. Unmanned aerial systems can be categorized in terms of their application
and use. The unmanned aerial systems can be used for multiple purposes. These include:
military, law enforcement, environmental, transportation, agricultural, and recreational
among others. There are many advantages of using UAVs and their usage is increasing day by
day with improving technology. Many of the tasks that were performed by humans in the past
are being taken over by the UAVs. For instance, in the transportation field, UAVs have
already made a significant impact by transporting substances and good from one place to
another with relative ease and without any danger. Pizza parlors are now using small drones
to deliver pizza. They have had a huge impact on the operational costs of delivering pizzas.
With the UAVs, pizza chains are able to save money as they do not have to hire any delivery
people and they do not have to pay for car fuels and insurance. Along with financial benefits,
such products are able to protect the workers from getting injured at work. If the delivery can
be made with a small drone, there are no risks of injuries to any personnel.
Background: The unmanned aerial vehicles are not overnight development. It took many
years of hard work by various engineers and researchers to make them efficient and effective.
Before WW I, the possibility of using radio to control aircraft intrigued many an able man.
One of these, Elmer Sperry, succeeded in arousing the Navy’s interest. Although his efforts
were visionary, they also had a serendipitous effect and made contributions to such fields as
automatic pilots, gyro-stabilized bombsights, flight instruments and catapults.
(http://www.history.navy.mil/download/ww1-10.pdf). The history of unmanned aircraft is
actually the history of all aircraft.
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are now used in transportation industry as well. There are
different designs that are available for UAVs, even in transportation that depends on
application. Sometimes these drones are used to carry weight such as, transporting goods and
parcels from one place to another. However, sometimes they are also used for surveillance
purposes. Based on different applications some commonly used designs are:
Designs for UASs used in Transportation
a) Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL):
Vertical Take Off and Landing Systems are small in construction and require limited
area (approximately 5 square meters) for takeoff and landing. These systems fly for
shorter distances and shorter duration. Thus, one limitation of these systems is that
they cannot be used for long term delivery purposes.
b) Fixed Wing:
Fixed Wing Systems are different from VTOLs in respect to their size and flying
capabilities. Fixed Wing Systems are larger than VTOLs and hence require larger area
for takeoff and landing. However, these systems have the capabilities to fly over
longer distances and for longer duration. These capabilities give them a bit of
advantage over the VTOLs.
c) There are many other categories of UAVs and these include the endurance aircrafts
which are capable of extended duration flights that usually last over 24 hours. They
could also be used in the transportation industry as well for the surveillance purposes.
However, few of these applications have been tested for these purposes.
Present Research on UAVs in Transport:
A German based delivery company called DHL has declared that they are in the process of
launching their first ever ‘parcelcopter.’ The first such service would be seen in Europe as
DHL management is planning to use drones for delivering goods and packages to their
respective places. The parcelcopter in question would be seen delivering some small packets
to a German island named Juist. The tests were conducted in September of this year and they
lasted till October, 2014.
This DHL quadcopter is able to carry parcels of maximum weight of 1.2kg while reaching a
maximum speed of almost 41 miles per hour. The distance covered by these drones depend
on the weather conditions while the packages are being delivered. These drones are
completely automated, yet they are monitored closely by the control teams based on the
mainland. DHL hopes to use these parcelcopters for emergency deliveries, which include
medications and other essential goods, to remote areas. There are many advantages of these
drones for transportation purposes but the critics also fear that these drones could be
dangerous. They may collide with other moving objects and may cause accidents and
causalities, especially in the densely populated areas. [2]
People Perception about UAS: This technology is relatively new and many people are
unaware of the benefits of UAS. A survey was conducted to gather the views of general
public on the UAS. Figure 2 clearly suggests that they were not too eager for this technology.
They would rather have a human monitoring a UAV airliner than having it automated. In
summary, majority of the respondents did not support an automated UAV airliner for
passenger transportation.
Figure 1: Transportation of Man by UAVs
Figure 2: Transportation of Cargo by UAVs
On the other hand, respondents’ answers varied significantly when they were asked if they
would support a UAV airliner for transportation of cargo. This possibly suggests that the
respondents think pilot on board could intervene if there are any potential problems. They
perceive the pilot as a safety symbol. If we compare the two figures, it is clear that
respondents were dismissive towards the UAV airline for the transportation of passengers, yet
more respondents were in favor of the UAV airliners for the cargo transportation.[3]
Applications in transportation:1) Traffic Surveillance: The extensive roadway networks that span many miles can be hard
to monitor. Managing the roadway usage data can be laborious and tedious task. Some of
these even require large fixed infrastructure. The solution to these difficulties is the
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs that are able to carry sensors and communications
hardware are becoming more and more useful and easily accessible. Another advantage of
UAVs is that they can cover large areas and precisely focus on the roadway networks for
traffic trends and accidents. They can achieve much higher speeds than ground vehicles and
can go beyond than just the road networks. UAVs can be used to determine average annual
daily traffic, parking lot availability, and intersection operations, among others. [5]
2) To deliver parcels: This is most popular application of unmanned aerial vehicles in
transportation. Earlier these drones were popular in military applications but in these days
delivery of parcels are also taken place. As explained earlier, there are some drones are tested
by DHL for delivery purposes. These drones can carry weight up to 1.2 kg and their
maximum speed is around 65 kmph. However these drones are not so endured to weather
conditions. Even delivery of pizzas is also started by unmanned aerial vehicles. These
vehicles are very useful for pizzas companies because these vehicles can deliver pizzas on
time during rush hours.
3) In military as transportation: UAVs are not used for monitoring and security purposes
in military. They are also used as a transportation of goods to the places which are dangerous
for manned planes. For example: Drones are used to transport medicines to the soldiers
during wars. It is not a great idea to deliver medicines by manned aircrafts. These drones are
very effective in these dull situations without taking a risk of life. These drones are easily
monitored by the camps of military.
5) Border Illegal Transportation: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are used on borders for
surveillance. The special drones are used for border security and are equipped with cameras.
These aerial vehicles capture pictures and shoot videos. The data is send autonomously to the
headquarters so if any illegal transportation is happened then necessary action can be take on
time. So these drones are very effective to check any illegal smuggling of gold, drugs or any
other good between borders.
Pros:
1. No need of roads: These vehicles are aerial so they do not require roads to travel
2. Save time: an ample amount of time can be saved with these vehicles. Sometimes
there is need to transport some goods urgently and long traffic can cause some delay
to the delivery. But unmanned aerial vehicles are fast and even there is no exception
that cause such delay so it saves times
3. Work on electricity and hence pollution free: Most of unmanned aerial systems
work on cells or electricity. So these are eco friendly
4. Handle dangerous situations: These drones are used in military also for
transportation. There are some dangerous and dull situations for man’s life so these
drones are used without taking any risk of life. These drones are very effective for
such transportations.
Cons:
1. Hacking of UAVs: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle are controlled by autonomous
computers or remotely controlled by some human on ground. These aircrafts are
programmed and are connected to user by GPS. It can be hacked by some hackers
and this is worst condition. If it is hacked by some enemy then it is impossible to
track any illegal border transportation.
2. Lost connection: In some extreme conditions, there is possibility of connection is
lost between drone and user at ground. In such situation, there is possibility of a
device is lost forever but any delivery parcel will also lost. So it is recommended not
to transport any costly material through UAVs.
3. People mentality: The main application of drones is in military. So these drones are
used to kill people in wars but if these drones are used for any transportation then
people feel that these drones are harmful. So sometimes due to lack of awareness
these drones make fear among people.
Future Scope:
Throughout the world, there are many places that are inaccessible by road for some part of
the year. The only way of transporting goods and medicine to such places is by flying a
conventional airplane there. These aircrafts can be costly as they require close monitoring
along with the salary of a trained pilot, his allied staff, and other expenses. One company
called, Matternet, which is based in the Silicon Valley, has decided to take an initiative by
proposing an alternative solution to the problem discussed above. This would include a
network of ground stations for small UAVs, which would be able to deliver payloads to rural
and remote communities with relative ease.
Matternet is currently designing an electric quadrocopter, which they are hoping to use for
delivering payloads. These quadrocopters can currently carry 1 kg loads for about 3-4
kilometers. They are trying to increase this range to about 10 kilometers. Also, their aim is to
make UAVs that would be able to carry goods up to 1,000 kilograms.
The system would be able to serve villages that are more than 10 kilometers range. This
would be achieved by having many ground stations where UAVs could take off and land. The
batteries would be swapped so that new solar-charged batteries can allow the UAV to make
another trip. Thus, the vehicles would be able to cover numerous villages until the final
destination is reached.
A good analogy for such systems is the Interne. Just like how internet transfers packets of
information, these UAVs would be able to deliver packages at the right place easily and
effectively.[4]
Conclusion: Finally I conclude that the future of unmanned aerial vehicle is bright. These
vehicles have so many advantages
Abstract: An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a kind of air plane that has no pilot to drive
and even no onboard crew or passengers. The UAVs are either control by autonomous
computers or by remote person. These vehicles are not new and even their scope is not
limited to military purposes. The UAVs are now used in many fields such as transportation,
agriculture, law enforcement extra. UAVs had limited scope in transportation during history
but it is increased with time. These drones are now used for transportation of goods such as
pizzas, even used as traffic control. They have good future scope in transportation field
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Unmanned Air Systems UAV Design, Development and Deployment.
(http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2014/sep/dhl-parcelcopter.cfm)
(http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=atgrads)
(http://www.gizmag.com/matternet-goods-transporting-uav-network/19663/)
5. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/703.1.pdf
drive and even no onboard crew or passengers. In simple words, it has no person on board.
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), recognizing that the technology requires ground
control stations, refers to them as “UAS” or unmanned aircraft systems. There are many other
names for these aircrafts such as, UAS (unpiloted air system), and UAV (unpiloted aerial
vehicle). These aircrafts are classified into two types by ICAO (International Civil Aviation
Organization):
1. Autonomous aircraft.
2. Remotely piloted aircraft.
As the name suggests, the autonomous aircrafts are controlled autonomously by onboard
computers whereas, remotely piloted aircraft flights are controlled by the remote control of
a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. In the past, remotely piloted aircrafts were used
frequently, but their growth has been limited now. On the other hand, a UAV has some degree
of ‘automatic intelligence.’ If a fault occurs in any of the sub-systems or components, the
UAV may be designed automatically to take corrective action and/or alert its operator to the
event. For example, in an event that the radio communication between the operator and the
UAV is broken, then the UAV may be programmed to search for the radio beam and reestablish contact or to switch to a different radio frequency band if the radio-link is duplexed.
[1] These aircrafts are different from other missiles and ordnance because they are designed
so that they could come back after performing their designated tasks and be used again for
other applications. Unmanned aerial systems can be categorized in terms of their application
and use. The unmanned aerial systems can be used for multiple purposes. These include:
military, law enforcement, environmental, transportation, agricultural, and recreational
among others. There are many advantages of using UAVs and their usage is increasing day by
day with improving technology. Many of the tasks that were performed by humans in the past
are being taken over by the UAVs. For instance, in the transportation field, UAVs have
already made a significant impact by transporting substances and good from one place to
another with relative ease and without any danger. Pizza parlors are now using small drones
to deliver pizza. They have had a huge impact on the operational costs of delivering pizzas.
With the UAVs, pizza chains are able to save money as they do not have to hire any delivery
people and they do not have to pay for car fuels and insurance. Along with financial benefits,
such products are able to protect the workers from getting injured at work. If the delivery can
be made with a small drone, there are no risks of injuries to any personnel.
Background: The unmanned aerial vehicles are not overnight development. It took many
years of hard work by various engineers and researchers to make them efficient and effective.
Before WW I, the possibility of using radio to control aircraft intrigued many an able man.
One of these, Elmer Sperry, succeeded in arousing the Navy’s interest. Although his efforts
were visionary, they also had a serendipitous effect and made contributions to such fields as
automatic pilots, gyro-stabilized bombsights, flight instruments and catapults.
(http://www.history.navy.mil/download/ww1-10.pdf). The history of unmanned aircraft is
actually the history of all aircraft.
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are now used in transportation industry as well. There are
different designs that are available for UAVs, even in transportation that depends on
application. Sometimes these drones are used to carry weight such as, transporting goods and
parcels from one place to another. However, sometimes they are also used for surveillance
purposes. Based on different applications some commonly used designs are:
Designs for UASs used in Transportation
a) Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL):
Vertical Take Off and Landing Systems are small in construction and require limited
area (approximately 5 square meters) for takeoff and landing. These systems fly for
shorter distances and shorter duration. Thus, one limitation of these systems is that
they cannot be used for long term delivery purposes.
b) Fixed Wing:
Fixed Wing Systems are different from VTOLs in respect to their size and flying
capabilities. Fixed Wing Systems are larger than VTOLs and hence require larger area
for takeoff and landing. However, these systems have the capabilities to fly over
longer distances and for longer duration. These capabilities give them a bit of
advantage over the VTOLs.
c) There are many other categories of UAVs and these include the endurance aircrafts
which are capable of extended duration flights that usually last over 24 hours. They
could also be used in the transportation industry as well for the surveillance purposes.
However, few of these applications have been tested for these purposes.
Present Research on UAVs in Transport:
A German based delivery company called DHL has declared that they are in the process of
launching their first ever ‘parcelcopter.’ The first such service would be seen in Europe as
DHL management is planning to use drones for delivering goods and packages to their
respective places. The parcelcopter in question would be seen delivering some small packets
to a German island named Juist. The tests were conducted in September of this year and they
lasted till October, 2014.
This DHL quadcopter is able to carry parcels of maximum weight of 1.2kg while reaching a
maximum speed of almost 41 miles per hour. The distance covered by these drones depend
on the weather conditions while the packages are being delivered. These drones are
completely automated, yet they are monitored closely by the control teams based on the
mainland. DHL hopes to use these parcelcopters for emergency deliveries, which include
medications and other essential goods, to remote areas. There are many advantages of these
drones for transportation purposes but the critics also fear that these drones could be
dangerous. They may collide with other moving objects and may cause accidents and
causalities, especially in the densely populated areas. [2]
People Perception about UAS: This technology is relatively new and many people are
unaware of the benefits of UAS. A survey was conducted to gather the views of general
public on the UAS. Figure 2 clearly suggests that they were not too eager for this technology.
They would rather have a human monitoring a UAV airliner than having it automated. In
summary, majority of the respondents did not support an automated UAV airliner for
passenger transportation.
Figure 1: Transportation of Man by UAVs
Figure 2: Transportation of Cargo by UAVs
On the other hand, respondents’ answers varied significantly when they were asked if they
would support a UAV airliner for transportation of cargo. This possibly suggests that the
respondents think pilot on board could intervene if there are any potential problems. They
perceive the pilot as a safety symbol. If we compare the two figures, it is clear that
respondents were dismissive towards the UAV airline for the transportation of passengers, yet
more respondents were in favor of the UAV airliners for the cargo transportation.[3]
Applications in transportation:1) Traffic Surveillance: The extensive roadway networks that span many miles can be hard
to monitor. Managing the roadway usage data can be laborious and tedious task. Some of
these even require large fixed infrastructure. The solution to these difficulties is the
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). UAVs that are able to carry sensors and communications
hardware are becoming more and more useful and easily accessible. Another advantage of
UAVs is that they can cover large areas and precisely focus on the roadway networks for
traffic trends and accidents. They can achieve much higher speeds than ground vehicles and
can go beyond than just the road networks. UAVs can be used to determine average annual
daily traffic, parking lot availability, and intersection operations, among others. [5]
2) To deliver parcels: This is most popular application of unmanned aerial vehicles in
transportation. Earlier these drones were popular in military applications but in these days
delivery of parcels are also taken place. As explained earlier, there are some drones are tested
by DHL for delivery purposes. These drones can carry weight up to 1.2 kg and their
maximum speed is around 65 kmph. However these drones are not so endured to weather
conditions. Even delivery of pizzas is also started by unmanned aerial vehicles. These
vehicles are very useful for pizzas companies because these vehicles can deliver pizzas on
time during rush hours.
3) In military as transportation: UAVs are not used for monitoring and security purposes
in military. They are also used as a transportation of goods to the places which are dangerous
for manned planes. For example: Drones are used to transport medicines to the soldiers
during wars. It is not a great idea to deliver medicines by manned aircrafts. These drones are
very effective in these dull situations without taking a risk of life. These drones are easily
monitored by the camps of military.
5) Border Illegal Transportation: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles are used on borders for
surveillance. The special drones are used for border security and are equipped with cameras.
These aerial vehicles capture pictures and shoot videos. The data is send autonomously to the
headquarters so if any illegal transportation is happened then necessary action can be take on
time. So these drones are very effective to check any illegal smuggling of gold, drugs or any
other good between borders.
Pros:
1. No need of roads: These vehicles are aerial so they do not require roads to travel
2. Save time: an ample amount of time can be saved with these vehicles. Sometimes
there is need to transport some goods urgently and long traffic can cause some delay
to the delivery. But unmanned aerial vehicles are fast and even there is no exception
that cause such delay so it saves times
3. Work on electricity and hence pollution free: Most of unmanned aerial systems
work on cells or electricity. So these are eco friendly
4. Handle dangerous situations: These drones are used in military also for
transportation. There are some dangerous and dull situations for man’s life so these
drones are used without taking any risk of life. These drones are very effective for
such transportations.
Cons:
1. Hacking of UAVs: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle are controlled by autonomous
computers or remotely controlled by some human on ground. These aircrafts are
programmed and are connected to user by GPS. It can be hacked by some hackers
and this is worst condition. If it is hacked by some enemy then it is impossible to
track any illegal border transportation.
2. Lost connection: In some extreme conditions, there is possibility of connection is
lost between drone and user at ground. In such situation, there is possibility of a
device is lost forever but any delivery parcel will also lost. So it is recommended not
to transport any costly material through UAVs.
3. People mentality: The main application of drones is in military. So these drones are
used to kill people in wars but if these drones are used for any transportation then
people feel that these drones are harmful. So sometimes due to lack of awareness
these drones make fear among people.
Future Scope:
Throughout the world, there are many places that are inaccessible by road for some part of
the year. The only way of transporting goods and medicine to such places is by flying a
conventional airplane there. These aircrafts can be costly as they require close monitoring
along with the salary of a trained pilot, his allied staff, and other expenses. One company
called, Matternet, which is based in the Silicon Valley, has decided to take an initiative by
proposing an alternative solution to the problem discussed above. This would include a
network of ground stations for small UAVs, which would be able to deliver payloads to rural
and remote communities with relative ease.
Matternet is currently designing an electric quadrocopter, which they are hoping to use for
delivering payloads. These quadrocopters can currently carry 1 kg loads for about 3-4
kilometers. They are trying to increase this range to about 10 kilometers. Also, their aim is to
make UAVs that would be able to carry goods up to 1,000 kilograms.
The system would be able to serve villages that are more than 10 kilometers range. This
would be achieved by having many ground stations where UAVs could take off and land. The
batteries would be swapped so that new solar-charged batteries can allow the UAV to make
another trip. Thus, the vehicles would be able to cover numerous villages until the final
destination is reached.
A good analogy for such systems is the Interne. Just like how internet transfers packets of
information, these UAVs would be able to deliver packages at the right place easily and
effectively.[4]
Conclusion: Finally I conclude that the future of unmanned aerial vehicle is bright. These
vehicles have so many advantages
Abstract: An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is a kind of air plane that has no pilot to drive
and even no onboard crew or passengers. The UAVs are either control by autonomous
computers or by remote person. These vehicles are not new and even their scope is not
limited to military purposes. The UAVs are now used in many fields such as transportation,
agriculture, law enforcement extra. UAVs had limited scope in transportation during history
but it is increased with time. These drones are now used for transportation of goods such as
pizzas, even used as traffic control. They have good future scope in transportation field
References:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Unmanned Air Systems UAV Design, Development and Deployment.
(http://eandt.theiet.org/news/2014/sep/dhl-parcelcopter.cfm)
(http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=atgrads)
(http://www.gizmag.com/matternet-goods-transporting-uav-network/19663/)
5. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/research/reports/fullreports/703.1.pdf
