Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Project Group
Carleton University
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 at M&AE.
In collaboration with an Ottawa geophysics company, Sander Geophysics Limited (http://www.sgl.com) the objective is to develop a UAS for high-resolution magnetic surveys, 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. There are, however, several critical technology areas where graduate research is needed. Four areas were identified with SGL in 2005 and research started in 2006. They were (1) Autonomous Operation, (2) Obstacle Detection, (3) Low-Cost Composite Airframes, and (4) Magnetic Signature Control. SGL funding of these projects was leveraged by obtaining matching funds from the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE) Interact program, which provided initial short-term support. (5) Geomagnetic Data Acquisition is a more recent research topic which stems from the need to consider special features of the UAS operations compared to piloted aircraft currently in use for airborne geophysical surveys.
The overall objective of the research and development program is to design construct and flight test innovative solutions for these key technologies. This effort is multidisciplinary and is being carried out in an integrated manner, in collaboration with the undergraduate teams. Although the UAS is being designed for a geophysical survey mission, the design is modular and the system will be suitable for other missions.
