Mission Planning Project

Cory Mathews, Duncan Mulgrew, Ethan Hood, Nicholas Hansen, Trevor Redpath 

            Wildfires can be a very dangerous event, not just for the victims that get struck by the wildfire, but for the firefighters fighting the fire. Forests can be disorienting and especially so when its burning all around a person. Something that can help firefighters is having an aircraft acting as an “eye in the sky”. One way to accomplish this cheaply is with an unmanned aerial platform, as full sized aircraft can be expensive.

The flight is required to be over peaceful pines, where a large forest fire is occurring. This area is surrounded by high mountains and will make landing and taking off for large fixed wings difficult, making the base camp location critical. The basecamp and subsequent ground station will be located to the southwest of the fire, as we will be expecting winds from the west and as stated in a large area capable for launching and taking off unmanned platform. As the flight has no definitive end time an unmanned vehicle will be required to be in the air for long periods of time. The mission will require the platform chosen to fly an orbit around the affected area to provide real time data and information to the firefighters on the ground. Having the unmanned platform at a set altitude will also keep it out of flight paths of other aircraft in the area, as this is the plan that Dr. Hupy outlined in lecture. As Dr. Hupy is experienced in unmanned firefighting we based our plan around what he discussed in lecture to know that it is a current and modern solution.

As we will be operating in a densely forested, complex area this mission requires a capable and versatile aerial platform for it to succeed. The Insitu Scan eagle is well suited to the mission, it can be launched and recovered from a relatively small area, and it has very good flight endurance. The Scan eagle was selected based on the assumption of a large budget. Smaller, cheaper systems like the C-Astral Bramor or DJI Matrices were considered, but we decided on the scan eagle as it would take many smaller aircraft to match the capabilities of one Scan Eagle. Having a fleet of smaller aircraft would also create a larger logistical challenge for the operation, as they would need to land and be recharged/rotated very frequently while the scan eagle can stay aloft for more than 18 hours. While more expensive than many other small to mid-sized UAS the Scan Eagle is still cheaper than a large UAS (RQ-9) or a manned aircraft.

The Scan eagle launches and is recovered from a trailer mounted catapult and sky hook system that can be set up in just 20 minutes (Insitu, 2019). We anticipate operating from a forested area, this means it would be impossible to use systems that require a road or runway to launch or land, as we might not be able to consistently operate from large roads. A dense forest also rules out a parachute recovery as there would need to be a large area for it to land, to avoid any risk of it ending up in a tree. A potential solution other solution would be a VTOL platform, but the endurance and payload would be greatly reduced in that case

The scan eagle has an endurance of 18 hours with a payload of up to 20lbs. (Insitu, 2019) These specs are perfect for our mission as we plan on carrying multiple sensors at once, and the less we must land and relaunch the less complicated the operation is. The ScanEagle falls short in one way, its lack of ability to hover as it is solely a fixed wing platform. Without the ability to hover the ScanEagle will only be able to look at each hotspot for a short time before it flies by it or must turn. This will be accounted for by having multiple UAS so there should be minimal time between when each hotspot is viewed by a UAS. This can also help as the images can be cross referenced between the UAVs in the data analysis so each hotspot can be looked at to see if it is growing or shrinking, which helps them identify the urgent ones to go after. With this short fall accounted for, the use of the ScanEagle should lead to a successful mission.

Based off of Insitu’s article on using scan eagles to fight fires, we plan to use the Aliticam vision imaging system, with the dual Imager turret as it has both an electro-optical and mid wave infrared cameras. They describe the payload that they use as

“the ScanEagle includes infrared sensors and electro-optical cameras that gather and disseminate geospatial imagery and provide incident perimeter maps and full motion video. The sensors and cameras spot heat signatures, fire movement and spot fires, and provide video feed of critical infrastructure, historical buildings and other structures that might be in danger, as well as identifying safe ingress and egress routes for firefighters.” (Insitu, 2018)

For the infrared sensor we plan on using a Mid-wave infrared (MWIR) camera, as it can provide “Quality thermal imaging for nighttime and in low-visibility flights” (Insitu, 2019), such as smoke. This sensor will allow us to penetrate the smoke in the sky and see the forest more clearly so we can better identify where the hotspot fires are.

 The electro optical camera can help with the operations during the daytime as it gives a better view of the fire, that the crews on the ground would expect to see.  The vehicle does not need any modification to use the sensor package, and these sensors are able to collect the necessary data for the mission.

When conducting an operation on a wildfire, the biggest issue is monitoring the entire area at once. UAS are smaller vehicles whos camera can only cover a limited section at a single time. Since a wildfire will continue to grow until it has been extinguished, this drawback could hinder the effectiveness at assisting wildfire crews. To combat this issue, we plan to operate multiple ScanEagles over the area.

With multiple ScanEagles, the ground team can monitor the wildfire and direct firefighters to areas that need to be focused on while also getting updated maps repeatedly as each UAS orbits the fire. With multiple ScanEagles on sight, the amount of area that can be covered is immense and ensures that there is a vehicle in the sky at all times. This will also allow us to provide real time updates and upload maps that can be shared with the firefighters without continiously stopping or taking an extended period of time to cover a large area. The ScanEagle is a good choice for data collection because it can provide “perimeter mapping, hot spot locations, and points of interest” while also showing a “real-time video feed.” (Insitu, 2018)

The Scan eagle's camera systems collect geospatial imagery and that imagery can be used with full motion video systems. In addition, the ScanEagle is equipped with infrared sensors and electro-optical cameras to spot heat signatures and fire movement as well as infrastructure that may be in danger due to the spreading fire. The use of these can also provide maps for directing fire crews and they can also monitor the fire live with the full motion video system. The information collected aids in identifying safe passages for the firefighters to make it to spot fires, and it can also aid in identifying escape routes if the fire shifts.

LineVision could be an option for geotagging hotspots. By using LineVision with the ScanEagle, response teams can be provided with a map that has focus areas marked on it. These maps will allow the response teams to act quickly and effectively at locations that will help extinguish the fire faster.

In conclusion, the use of Insitu Scan Eagles to monitor forest fires is the best UAS in our opion given the situation and the data that needs to be collected. While we acknowledge that there are other UAVs that could do similar operations, the scan eagles were chosen for their flight time, sensor package and ability to use live geospatial video as well as mapping. These factors help the UAV get integrated into a complex airspace operation, and allow the UAV to help increase response time and save lives in an everchaning enviroment.

Works Cited

Insitu. (2018, August 21). Insitu’s ScanEagle UAS Proves Effective as a Wildfire Suppression Resource. Bengin, Washington, USA. Retrieved from https://www.insitu.com/press-releases/ScanEagleUASProvesValuableforWildfireSuppressionEfforts

Insitu. (2019, September 30). Launcher Mark 4 Product Card. Retrieved from Insitu ScanEagle: https://www.insitu.com/images/uploads/pdfs/Launcher_Mark4_SE_ProductCard_DU031317.pdf

Insitu. (2019, September 30). ScanEagle 3. Retrieved from Insitu ScanEagle: https://www.insitu.com/scaneagle3#2

Insitu. (2019, September 30). ScanEagle Dual Imager Product Card. Bingen, Washington, United States of America.

Insitu. (2019, September 30). Skyhook Universal. Retrieved from Insitu ScanEagle: https://www.insitu.com/images/uploads/pdfs/Skyhook_Universal_ProductCard_PR041615.pdf

Merino, L. C.-d.-d. (2012). An unmanned aircraft system for automatic forest fire monitoring and measurement. Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 65(1-4), 533-548. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/