TxDOT Research Library - Publication Details

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Title:

Analysis of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Concept of Operations in ITS Applications

Report No.:

CTS 11-06

Authors:

Prepared by Demoz Gebre-Egziabher, Zhiqiang Xing

Published:

2011

Minneapolis, Minnesota

University of Minnesota. Intelligent Transportation Systems Institute

Type:

Online document

1 PDF (43 pages)

Online Access:

https://www.cts.umn.edu/publications/report/analys...

Access Note:

1.9 MB

Summary

The work described in this report is about developing a framework for the design of concept of operations (CONOP), which use small uninhabited aerial systems (SUAS) to support of intelligent transportation system (ITS) application of highway and transportation infrastructure monitoring. In these envisioned applications, these vehicles will be used for tasks such as remote collection of traffic data or inspection of roads and bridges. As such, a risk that has to be managed for these applications is that of vehicle-infrastructure collision. Various solutions to ensure safe separation between the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and the object being inspected have been proposed. However, most, if not all, of these solutions rely on a multi-sensor approach, which combines digital maps of the infrastructure being inspected with an integrated GPS/Inertial navigator. While "turn key" solutions for such multi-sensor systems exist, the performance specifications provided by their manufactures does not provide sufficient information to allow precisely quantifying or bounding the collision risk. Furthermore, size, weight and power (or SWAP) constraints posed by these small aerial vehicles limits the use of redundant hardware and/or software as a risk mitigation strategy. The purpose of the work reported here was to develop a framework for the design of CONOPs, which take these SUAS limitations into account. The method outlined shows, in part, how these vehicle/infrastructure collision risks can be estimated or conservatively bounded.

Publ. Place

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Notes

"March 2011"

Print Copy

Collection:

States (MN) Online Only

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Topics

Drones
Unmanned aircraft systems
Data collection
Digital maps
Global Positioning System
Intelligent transportation systems
Remote sensing
Risk management
Traffic surveillance

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