Technical Configurations of a Helicopter Type Unmanned Aerial System for Pesticide and Fertilizer Application

Digital agricultural production is based on robotic agricultural technologies for the use of pesticides and fertilizers using unmanned aerial systems, which are based on unmanned aerial vehicles for monitoring agricultural land, the pesticides application, fertilizers and other agrochemicals. (Research purpose) To develop an unmanned helicopter based aircraft for applying pesticides and fertilizers, and to substantiate its technological parameters. (Materials and methods) The authors used methodological recommendations on the use of chemicals in the precision farming system, regulatory and technical documentation for unmanned aircraft systems. (Results and discussion) The authors determined the unmanned aerial vehicle main flight technical and technological parameters for the implementation of the applying pesticides and fertilizers process. They established the dependences of its productivity on the norms of introducing working fluids of pesticides and fertilizers, the agricultural field length, and the approach distance to the field. (Conclusions) The authors developed a helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicle of a coaxial design with a take-off mass of 280 kilograms and a payload of 50-80 kilograms, a rotor diameter of 5.3 meters, a constructive boom width with sprayers of 5 meters, a working flight height of 1-5 meters, a working speed of 40-60 kilometers per hour, the rate of working fluid of pesticides application 10-20 liters per hectare and nitrogen fertilizers 30-120 liters per hectare. They established rational values for the application rates of pesticides – 10-20 liters per hectare, the agricultural field length – at least 0.8 kilometers, ensuring maximum productivity in flight hour when processing the agricultural field. They showed that the flight distance minimizing from the runway to the field significantly increased the productivity of applying pesticides and fertilizers.

Digital agriculture predetermines the development of robotic agricultural technologies for the application of pesticides and fertilizers using unmanned aerial systems, which are based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with a certain working load for monitoring agricultural land and applying agrochemicals. ( Research purpose ) To develop a technology for variable-rate application of pesticides and fertilizers using unmanned aerial vehicles in digital agriculture. ( Materials and methods ) In the process of study, the authors used the methodological recommendations on the application of chemicals in the precision farming system (offered by VIM), as well as the normative and technical documentation for unmanned aircraft systems. ( Results and discussion ) It was shown that the developed technology includes the sequential execution of information and technological operations in off-line and on-line modes. It was found that the application rate of the liquid pesticides of 10-20 liters per hectare reduces losses due to drift from the treatment area and ensures the highest productivity of pesticide application using unmanned aerial vehicles. It was determined that the field processing performance increases as the run length increases, and decreases with the increasing flow rate of the liquid chemical. The rational run length was established to equal 0.8-3.2 kilometers. The authors established requirements for the spraying quality of unmanned aerial vehicles. It was proved that to increase the productivity of unmanned aerial vehicles during plant top-dressing, it is necessary to use unmanned aerial vehicles with a larger working load of 300-400 kilograms. ( Conclusions ) The authors have developed a technology for variable-rate application of pesticides and fertilizers using unmanned aerial vehicles, algorithms for preparing them for flight, monitoring agricultural lands, making a field orthophotomap, electronic maps of vegetation indices, the phytosanitary status of crops, and variable-rate application of pesticides and fertilizers.

Unmanned Aerial Systems for Field Scouting and Spraying

Recent developments in agriculture mechanization have generated significant challenges towards sustainable approaches to reduce the environmental footprint and improve food quality. This paper highlights the benefits of using unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for precision spraying applications of pesticides, reducing the environmental risk and waste caused by spray drift. Several unmanned aerial spraying system (UASS) operation parameters and spray system designs are examined to define adequate configurations for specific treatments. A hexarotor DJI Matrice 600 equipped with T-Motor “15 × 5” carbon fiber blades is tested numerically using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and experimentally in a wind tunnel. These tests assess the aerodynamic interaction between the wake of an advancing multicopter and the fine droplets generated by atomizers traditionally used in agricultural applications. The aim of this research is twofold. First, we analyze the effects of parameters such as flight speed (0, 2, and 3 m·s−1), nozzle type (hollowcone and fan), and injection pressure (2–3 bar) on spray distribution. In the second phase, we use data from the experimental campaign to validate numerical tools for the simulation of rotor–droplet interactions necessary to predict spray’s ground footprint and to plan a precise guidance algorithm to achieve on-target deposition and reduce the well-known droplet drift problem.

This work investigates the integration of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) and a small methanol/nitromethane fueled piston engine as a prospective hybrid powertrain for small unmanned aerial systems (UASs). The increased chemical energy density of a liquid fuel when compared to traditional batteries, along with ease of storage, accessibility, and refuel time make the use of a liquid fuel powered UAS preferable when compared to battery only power UAS’. Currently small UAS’ of increasing interest as a research area, as they have a wide application to a variety of fields. UAS’ are currently being used for precision agricultural crop management and water resource visual inspection. UAS’ are a cost effective avenue to survey water resources and track water runoff that is contaminating water resources. UAS’ can be easily automated and fitted with sensors and cameras capable of providing actionable feedback to the user. The use of UAS’ for land management and survey is expected to continue to expand. However, nearly all UAS’ are powered by a typical lithium polymer battery pack, giving an average endurance of approximately twenty minutes. This is acceptable to most hobbyists and for short filming duration; however, it limits UAS’ to only being able to be operated in close proximity to the user. Current power plants for UAS’ are not suited for long duration missions, such as the survey of water resources. Therefore, the development of a hybrid power plant is crucial for UAS’ to be utilized to their full potential as a survey tool. This work introduces a small internal combustion engine to act as a partial oxidation fuel reformer, producing high temperature exhaust and syngas. The exhaust of this engine is then analyzed as a fuel source for tubular SOFC’s. The SOFC is integrated into the exhaust of a 3.3 cm3 nitromethane fueled two-stroke engine, achieving a maximum power of 680 mW/cm2. A theoretical comparison of flight time indicates that the modular hybrid system could increase a typical small UAS’ flight time beyond 1 hour. The system is capable of achieving a significantly higher energy density than traditional lithium polymer batteries.

The experience of conducting hostilities during the large-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine confirms the interdependence of the processes of development of means (samples, complexes, systems) of destruction and means of combating them. There is a steady increase in the combat effectiveness and importance of reconnaissance and strike (reconnaissance and fire) complexes, which include unmanned aerial systems, as well as electronic warfare techniques, the use of which reduces their effectiveness. The article analyzes the features of the modern armed struggle regarding the use of reconnaissance and strike (fire) unmanned aerial systems and their effectiveness in the conditions of electronic warfare. With this in mind, the authors proposed a methodical approach to the procedure for preparing initial data for the formation of variants of the generalized composition of the reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial system, which is a set of interference-resistant unmanned vehicles. We propose to create a reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial vehicle system on the basis of units of attack unmanned aerial vehicles as an organizational and technical association of samples of unmanned aerial vehicles for reconnaissance, targeting, guidance and destruction, which allow to comprehensively solve the problems of detection, identification and operational destruction of targets. For independent performance of tasks, we consider it as a set of functionally related models of weapons and military equipment: unmanned aerial vehicles, control and adjustment stations, launch and landing facilities, as well as software and hardware for managing combat use. The application of the developed procedure makes it possible to obtain reference options and form the technical outline of the reconnaissance and strike unmanned aerial system, as a qualitatively new model of weapons and military equipment.

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) are soon to cloud our skies in all areas of the national airspace, uncontrolled as well as controlled. Allowing UAS operation in controlled airspace is the responsibility of the National Navigation Service Providers (ANSP), such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Being able to locate UAS and thus associate it with its respective ground control station(s) is a prerequisite for seamless integration into the National Airspace (NAS). This contribution describes the concept of using the GPS capability of the UAS to provide location-based services to the air traffic control systems, to automate the association with appropriate air traffic control (ATC) communications channels and data links. It is a common expectation now that UAS will soon operate not as individual devices, but as part of a highly networked UAS infrastructure. Small to large UASs will need to be properly addressable from the ANSP's ground control systems such as tower, TRACON, or en-route center. As defined in RTCA DO-320 all UAS pilot-in-control (PIC) are subject to the same regulations as pilots flying aircraft while physically residing on the aircraft, thus need to adhere to commands and directives by air traffic control personnel located in these facilities. Communications links to ATC facilities include data and voice links between air traffic control and the PIC in the UAS ground station. In addition, voice commands need to be broadcasted to all other users (i.e. aircraft, and other UAS - PIC) operating in the same ATC sector. When a UAS transitions the boundary of two sectors the corresponding responsibility changes from one controller to another residing within the same or different ATC facilities. The described Location Based Services (LBS) may be used to dynamically associate the communication service to its responsible ATC facility without PIC intervention. Current communications links between UAS ground control stations (GCS) and ATC are relayed via the UAS itself resulting in the need for a special transceiver on the UAS in addition to the control link transceiver. Especially in the case of small UAS (sUAS) this transceiver constitutes a significant reduction in maximum vehicle payload capacity. This paper proposes a solution that operates without the need for a retransmission transceiver on board the UAS. All communications links between UAS GCS and ATC utilize solely ground based communications assets, networks, and protocols. The LBS concept allows calls to automatically find their way to the correct ATC center, respectively the ATC controller in charge for the associated airspace block. Such a mapping between the user location and the service boundary can be implemented using a Location-to-Service Translation (LoST) system. The LoST system fetches the geographic data representing the boundaries of the airspace sector from its authoritative AIXM database and looks up the unique identifier of the responsible sector, and ATC center. This information is then used to identify the corresponding radio frequency, represented by its EUROCAE ED-137 based identifier, which in turn is used to establish the communications association/link between the PIC and the ATC controller using available Ground communication facilities. We further discuss the dynamic communications link establishment from the ATC controller to the UAS PIC using the LBS. In the UAS network we propose the LBS to be setup as a subscribe/notify service allowing the sharing of additional metadata ahead of a sector handoff. The paper ends with an outlook into the option of a make-before-break automatic link establishment, which may enhanced operational safety and security and could further reduce complexity in the UAS coordination effort for air traffic controllers in the NAS.

Unmanned aerial vehicle systems are currently in limited use for public service missions worldwide. Development of civil unmanned technology in the United States currently lags behind military unmanned technology development in part because of unresolved regulatory and technological issues. Civil unmanned aerial vehicle systems have potential to augment disaster relief and emergency response efforts. Optimal design of aerial systems for such applications will lead to unmanned vehicles which provide maximum potentiality for relief and emergency response while accounting for public safety concerns and regulatory requirements. A case study is presented that demonstrates application of a civil unmanned system to a disaster relief mission with the intent on saving lives. The concept utilizes unmanned aircraft to obtain advanced warning and damage assessments for tornados and severe thunderstorms. Overview of a tornado watch mission architecture as well as commentary on risk, cost, need for, and design tradeoffs for unmanned aerial systems are provided.

Unmanned aerial vehicle systems are currently in limited use for public service missions worldwide. Development of civil unmanned technology in the United States currently lags behind military unmanned technology development in part because of unresolved regulatory and technological issues. Civil unmanned aerial vehicle systems have potential to augment disaster relief and emergency response efforts. Optimal design of aerial systems for such applications will lead to unmanned vehicles which provide maximum potentiality for relief and emergency response while accounting for public safety concerns and regulatory requirements. A case study is presented that demonstrates application of a civil unmanned system to a disaster relief mission with the intent on saving lives. The concept utilizes unmanned aircraft to obtain advanced warning and damage assessments for tornados and severe thunderstorms. Overview of a tornado watch mission architecture as well as commentary on risk, cost, need for, and design tradeoffs for unmanned aerial systems are provided.

In a modular robotic system, with the possible multiple configurations of potentially an arbitrary number of modules, knowledge about the configuration of the system is essential. In this paper, we consider the problem of identifying the configuration of a modular aerial robotic system. In particular, we consider the case when positions of the modules in the assembly structure are unknown. We propose an automatic identification approach which consists of two parts: a calibration motion, and an identification algorithm, which are analyzed in detail. We verify our approach experimentally; we apply the proposed approach to a novel modular unmanned aerial system (UAS), namely a fractal tetrahedron assembly.

Chapter 17 - Professional drone mapping

One of the main problems in ensuring the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) safety and control performance indicators is the operational analysis organization of heterogeneous data coming from on-board sensors and the formation of adequate recommendations and decisions on their basis of flight missions implementation. In recent years, there have been many research papers devoted to solving this problem using artificial intelligence (AI) methods. The article discusses AI methods for using in tasks related to UAS. We have described the sources of information to generate the data necessary for the application of AI methods. We have classified typical tasks of computer vision and navigation systems for solving using AI methods. We have analyzed the generally accepted classification of AI methods within the scope of the research subject. At the same time, special attention is paid to the features of AI methods that allow solving many well-known problems of recognition, approximation, optimization for UAS target and navigation tasks realization and effective operator support. In particular, we have considered neural networks, decision trees, support vector machines, k-nearest neighbors, genetic, ant colony algorithms, artificial immune systems. Currently, the hardware allows integrating complex algorithms based on these methods on board and widely using them in flight missions. The results of the study conducted as part of the review are illustrated by examples from the scientific publications.

The use of unmanned aerial application systems (UAASs) for precision pesticide applications has increased alongside the demand for sustainable agricultural practices. However, limited studies have standardized the necessary flight parameters ensuring the optimal use of UAASs in specialty crops (e.g., fruits and vegetables). Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of flight speed, droplet size, and application volume on the spray deposition of UAASs, creating guidelines to facilitate their use in specialty crops. Field experiments were conducted in a three-factorial experimental design of three flight speeds (i.e., 4, 7, and 10 m/s), three droplet sizes (i.e., 150, 250, and 350 µm), and two application volumes (i.e., 18.75 and 28.10 L/ha). Spraying droplet parameters (i.e., coverage, droplet density, and droplet spectra, and application uniformity), measured through the effective swath width, were recorded to assess spray deposition efficiency. Flight speed, droplet size, and application volume significantly influenced spray deposition. Treatments with slower flight speeds (4 m/s) and higher application volumes (28.10 L/ha) increased spray coverage, while droplet density was maximized at 4 m/s with the finest droplet size (150 µm), which are desirable characteristics for pesticide applications in specialty crops. Ultimately, the effective swath width and spray uniformity were maximized at a flight speed of 7.93 m/s with a droplet size of 350 µm. These results help optimize UAAS-based pesticide application, increasing efficiency and reducing environmental impact; however, understanding pesticide translocation dynamics (i.e., systemic or contact) on plants is key for growers to determine flight parameters.

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are set to become part of everyday air traffic operations perhaps within the next few years; however there are significant challenges that need to be addressed in order to seamlessly introduce UAS into non segregated airspace. This chapter discusses some of the identified safety challenges in achieving this objective in the context of the current regulatory framework. It also takes a look at how one might rigorously argue the safety of UAS operations in non-segregated airspace from an Air Traffic Management (ATM) perspective. The chapter draws upon the experience of the authors’ in the UAS domain, more specifically the lessons learnt from a number of safety assessments for flying UAS as Operational or General Air Traffic (OAT or GAT) inside and outside segregated airspace. Most UAS operations are currently constrained to designated danger areas or within temporary restricted areas of airspace, commonly known as segregated airspace, or are flown under special arrangements over the sea. On some occasions, UAS operations are permitted in an extremely limited environment outside segregated airspace. To exploit fully the unique operational capabilities of current and future UAS and thus realise the potential commercial benefits of UAS, there is a desire to be able to access all classes of airspace and operate across national borders and airspace boundaries. Such operations must be acceptably safe but regulation should not become so inflexible or burdensome that the commercial benefits are lost. The viability of the commercial market for UAS especially in the civil market is heavily dependent on unfettered access to the same airspace as manned civilian operations. Whilst it is essential that UAS demonstrate an equivalent level of safety compared to manned operations the current regulatory framework has evolved around the concept of the pilot-inthe-cockpit. There is a need to develop UAS solutions that assure an equivalent level of safety for UAS operations, which in turn will require adaptation of the current regulatory framework to allow for the concept of the pilot-not-in-the-cockpit without compromising the safety of other airspace users. One of the major issues facing UAS operations is the demonstration of equivalence (in particular for See and Avoid) in the context of an evolving ATM environment. It is very important to understand that the current ATM environment is not static. Achieving equivalence with manned operations is not a fixed target as there are many significant changes proposed that aim to improve operational efficiency and performance or enhance safety. On the whole proposed changes to the ATM environment could be seen as

The Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is more and more widely used in modern warfare, and its problem of support mode is becoming more and more prominent. The support mode of UAS refers to the standard mode to ensure the operation and maintenance of UAS which mainly composed of maintenance level, organization structure and contractor logistical support system. In most cases the support mode of UAS draws lesson from manned vehicles’. For the research and application of support model of UAS is relatively lagging, for example, the division of maintenance level is not clear; the allocation of support resources is redundant; military force lacks maintenance support capability; logistical support professional setting is not reasonable; the contractor logistics support system is not normative. So, there is no a set of effective, reasonable and normative support mode to support the operation and maintenance of UAS, resulting in the operational readiness of UAS is not high and maintenance process wastes a lot of manpower and material and money, which greatly restricts the operation and development of UAS. Combined with the UAS support requirements and features under the military trade, this paper analyses the status of the redundant and inefficient support mode. Aiming at these problem, a new support model of UAS will be researched from three aspects including the allocation of maintenance level, the adjustment of military maintenance organization structure, and the establishment of contractor logistical support system. By applying the new support mode to user, the operation and support of UAS will be more effective and reasonable which will greatly promote the development of UAS.