Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) are being developed and used in many countries around the world, mostly in military applications. However, civilian applications are increasing at a high rate and include various types of airborne surveys, such as geophysical, environmental, security and wildlife inventories, to name a few. At Carleton University we have an active project developing an integrated multi-mission UAS. The development started five years ago as one of the final-year undergraduate projects within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
In collaboration with Sander Geophysics Limited (SGL), an Ottawa-based geophysics company, Carleton is developing a UAS for high-resolution magnetic surveys, called GeoSurv II. SGL studies have shown that a relatively small air vehicle would be highly competitive for such surveys and, consequently, the company has been providing significant in-kind support to the undergraduate project. In addition, several critical technology areas have been identified for graduate research:
SGL funding of these projects has been leveraged by obtaining matching funds from the
Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Interact program, which provides initial short-term support.
The overall objective of this research and development program is to design, manufacture, and flight test innovative solutions for these key technologies. This effort is multidisciplinary and is being carried out in an integrated manner, and in collaboration with the undergraduate project. Although the UAS is being designed for a geophysical survey mission, the design is modular and the system will be suitable for other missions.
