The Wichita Eagle
An Augusta company is working to integrate UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, for other uses, such as responding to disasters
Nearly two years ago, a tornado hit Greensburg, killing 11 people and destroying 95 percent of the town. The tornado kicked into high gear an effort to upgrade the state's response to disasters and to give responders a new tool -- unmanned aerial vehicles.
The UAVs can be equipped with thermal imagers, video cameras and other equipment to transmit data to the ground. That will help responders find victims trapped in rubblefaster, assess the scope of the damage more quickly and prioritize what should be done.
"The ability to save lives is what it's all about," said Roger Powers, president and CEO of Augusta-based Flint Hills Solutions.
The company is a defense contractor working on advanced technologies to develop and integrate UAVs into the national air space.
The third annual Unmanned Systems Symposium will focus on unmanned aerial vehicles, including their use
in emergency situations. Powers is organizing the event, which is expected to draw about 100 people to Wichita.
The most pressing need for unmanned vehicles is for response to fires, floods, ice storms and other disasters, experts say. Earlier this month, a military drone was sent up three times to give officials a bird's-eye view of the floodwaters near Fargo, N.D. It is the first time a UAV has been used in dealing with a flood in the U.S.
But UAVs have other potential uses. They're well-suited for dangerous, dirty or dull missions, such as flying through a biochemical hazard area, or where the work isn't exciting and could be automated, said Kurt Barnhart, aviation department head and executive director of the Applied Aviation Research Center at Kansas State University in Salina.
"It's for those who have a need to have an aerial view," such as surveying real estate, pipelines, power lines or for border surveillance, Barnhart said.
K-State Salina opened an Unmanned Aerial Systems Program office a year ago to advance the use of unmanned vehicles. It's working with Powers and the military.
The school offers a certificate program in unmanned aerial systems operations. In the future, it plans to offer a degree program, one of the first schools in the nation to do so.
The U.S. military has been using UAVs for years in Iraq and Afghanistan, using systems such as the Global Hawk or Predator.
The Global Hawk and Predator, however, are not suitable for emergency response situations, Powers said. They're too big, too expensive and take too many people to operate.
Flint Hills Solutions chose the smaller, 35-pound Aerosonde for its test vehicle. Depending on the systems desired, costs can range from $100,000 to $500,000.
The aircraft can fly 30 hours on a gallon of fuel and is launched from the top of a vehicle.
"You just need to find a north, south, east, west gravel road anywhere," Powers said. "Put it on the top of your car, go to 50 miles an hour, and it will take off."
The craft is controlled by operators on the ground.
"The only thing stopping it is airspace," Powers said.
Barriers to use
The use of unmanned aerial systems in the nation's airspace is a complex one. UAVs need access to the airspace and the ability to co-exist with other, manned aircraft.
In the short-term, a Federal Aviation Administration certification of authorization is needed to operate UAVs in a controlled area. The license has been applied for and approval is expected in the next couple of weeks, Powers said.
That will allow K-State and Flint Hills Solutions to test the technology and fly in an area north of Salina called Crisis City.
Once the certificate is in place, the FAA can expand their use to disasters by closing air space over an affected area to all but authorized air traffic.
In the future, however, more must be done to allow UAVs to operate in airspace like other aircraft. That's going to require "see and avoid" collision technology, which detects incoming obstacles or airplanes and avoids them.
"You have to be able to see the obstacle five kilometers out, recognize what it is and avoid the collision," Powers said.
The technology has been proven, but current systems are too big and heavy for use on the smaller UAVs.
Powers is working to scale down that technology and is opening a miniaturization lab at K-State to work on it and to incorporate FAA requirements into it. It's a two-year project, he said.
"Everybody's goal is to put see-and-avoid technology on the smallest UAV possible," Powers said. "That opens up the biggest market."
Economic development
The UAV market has potential for Wichita and for Kansas, Powers said.
Work can mean significant economic development and help in diversifying the economy, he said.
"It creates high-paying, high-technology jobs," he said.
It can mean work for local aircraft suppliers, engineers and others, Powers said. And Kansas could work to recruit a manufacturer.
"We believe that Kansas has all the right stuff to make us a viable player in an emerging $8 billion a year market," Powers said.
The cooperation among K-State the Kansas National Guard, the FAA and private industry positions Kansas well, he said.
"We're at the right time at the right place with the right people to be a major player in this market," Powers said.
Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or mmcmillin@wichitaeagle.com.
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