Future Unmanned Systems Impact

UAS will have a significant impact on the future of society over the next two decades, despite many changes and developments with both unmanned ground and maritime systems.

While traffic on highways and roads are constantly being expanded to accommodate increased passenger movements with the ever-growing population, there is limited space for these vehicles to operate. While autonomous ground vehicles will help to improve safety and alleviate some of the traffic by improving driving and navigational efficiency, these vehicles over the next few decades will still be sharing the streets with manned vehicles, allowing for human error to be present in operations.

UAS (specifically passenger drones) will have the unique capability (once regulations are effectively established) to capitalize on low altitude airspace, tapping into a network that can be effectively managed and developed from inception (Mcneal, 2016). Additionally, passenger drones will have the ability to operate in multiple dimensions, not limited to ground travel, but able to utilize VTOL capability. While autonomous vehicles are being developed by several manufacturers with proprietary software and systems, while current drone technology is typically more open sourced, with collaboration between manufacturers and enabling innovation and rapid advancement.

With regards to other UAS applications, enhanced capabilities in aerial photography, utility inspections, search and rescue and disaster recovery efforts, drug interdiction, parcel delivery, geo mapping, agriculture inspection/monitoring, firefighting applications and even university campus guides will continue to press the boundaries for what these systems are able to accomplish (Carroll, 2013). In conjunction with advanced cameras, sensors and countless other payload attachments, the possibilities for what these systems can do is endless.  

Additionally, there are countless military applications for these systems, removing the risk to loss of life for pilots and crews in hazardous environments, and enhancing the capabilities of ISR, agile supply movements and ground support.

Over the next few decades, for UAS, the rapid increase in technology, hardware and software will allow for endless possibilities!

-Jonathan

References

Carroll, J. (2013, December 6). The future is here: Five applications of UAV technology. Retrieved from http://www.vision-systems.com/articles/2013/12/the-future-is-here-five-applications-of-uav-technology.html

McNeal, G. (2016, October 24). Four Reasons Why Drones, Not Driverless Cars, Are The Future Of Autonomous Navigation. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregorymcneal/2016/10/24/four-reasons-why-drones-not-driverless-cars-are-the-future-of-autonomous-navigation/#46e2c2e23e45

Autonomous Strategy Implementation

When introducing an unmanned system, consideration must be given to privacy, ethics, safety and lost link/loss of system control in order to successfully implement. While an unmanned ground system may has many differences than a UAS, there are some very common and shared concerns that must be addressed. Much like the UAS, the specific operating environment, and mission specific requirements have a great deal of impact on what needs to be addressed and how requirements are implemented.

Privacy is a very important consideration, and unmanned ground systems have much in common with UAS with regards to peoples concern over where they operate and the information that they may collect or access. The article Unmanned Ground Vehicles and Privacy, the author identifies a situation where he is at a friends house, and the son of the friend is operating a small UGS (Finn, 2017). The father is dismayed at how intrusive his sons actions are with this device, and proceeds to apologize and express concern over the fact that the vehicle has a camera attached, identifying that it can be used to spy on him in his own house. ISR is a very real issue when it comes to UGVs, and with the rapid acceleration of autonomous vehicles in general this concern is likely to grow. The information collected about where you go and who you travel with, as well as a slew of personal data could be damaging and used against you. Having robust privacy controls, and being transparent with consumers about what information is gathered and how it is planned to be used is the best strategy for implementation.

Also, much like the issue of privacy in UGV operations, the issue of ethics in this realm deal with how and what information is collected, and what the intent of use is. Recreational usage should consider where the vehicle is operated, and what the function is. Obviously we can’t always know peoples intent of use, so without robust regulations or rules governing recreational use, the individual user would be under their own interpretation of ethical usage. Commercial autonomous UGS operations are a little easier to regulate, and like with the issue of privacy, should be transparent regarding the information that is collected and used. As their primary customer will be the general public, the commercial autonomous operating companies will have to ensure they maintain this transparency, to avoid significant public backlash in the case of breaches of trust.

Safety is another issue that must be addressed in implementation of a UGS system.  As there may be varying levels of human intervention depending on the mission, system capabilities and any embedded safety features, great consideration must be given in addressing how the system interacts with the environment and personnel encountered. To address, you must begin by identify the hazards, assessing the risk involved, identify risk mitigation options and then implement these mitigation techniques (Owens, 2014). Finally, you must validate the effectiveness of the options you choose, and determine if additional actions need to be taken, or new issues addressed.

With regards to lost link or loss of control, addressing these issues in the developmental strategy is important. Whether it be a redundant return to home location as found on several commercial or recreational UAS, or a predetermined autonomous program to continue to another previously identified location, it is paramount to ensure these issues are addressed. The mission set of the UGS must be considered as well, as the operating environment and requirements can have a great impact on the necessity of certain lost link or loss of control features.

References

Finn, W. (2017, July 11). Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGV) & Privacy. Retrieved from http://amrel.com/unmanned-ground-vehicles-privacy/

Owens, T. (2014). system safety considerations for unmanned ground vehicles. Retrieved from http://issc2014.system-safety.org/71_Owens_System_Safety_Considerations_for_Unmanned.pdf