Abstract
In this article, we present a versatile gas detector that can operate on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). The device has six electrochemical modules, which can be selected to measure specific gases, according to the mission requirements. The gas intake is realized by a miniaturized vacuum pump, which provides immediate gas distribution to the sensors and improves a fast response. The measurement data are sent wirelessly to the operator’s computer, which continuously stores results and presents them in real time. The 2 m tubing allows measurements to be taken in places that are not directly accessible to the UGV or the UAV. While UAVs significantly enhanced the versatility of sensing applications, point gas detection is challenging due to the downwash effect and gas dilution produced by the rotors. In our work, we demonstrated the method of downwash effect reduction at aerial point gas measurements by applying a long-distance probe, which was kept between the UAV and the examined object. Moreover, we developed a safety connection protecting the UAV and sensor in case of accidental jamming of the tubing inside the examined cavity. The methods presented provide an effective gas metering strategy using UAVs.
Highlights
The rapid detection and identification of chemical agents at the place of an incident is crucial for fast risk assessment and, as a result, for a reduction in the severity of the incident’s consequences, and an improvement in the protection of the responding personnel
Detection and identification are very often carried out with the support of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), which allow the presence of human factors directly in the area of the hazard to be limited
The replacement of human factors by machines has other benefits because the size and properties of the UAV and UGV platforms can be tailored depending on the mission requirements
Summary
The rapid detection and identification of chemical agents at the place of an incident is crucial for fast risk assessment and, as a result, for a reduction in the severity of the incident’s consequences, and an improvement in the protection of the responding personnel. Detection and identification are very often carried out with the support of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), which allow the presence of human factors directly in the area of the hazard to be limited. It is not surprising that, nowadays, UAVs and/or UGVs play a critical role in several rescue or emergency scenarios, such as searching for victims in hard-to-reach terrain [2], remote bomb disposal [3], biological warfare agent detection [4], industrial installation leak inspections [5], and special equipment transportation [6]. First responders and researchers can benefit from a broad range of instrumentation that allows the detection and identification of solid, liquid, and gaseous chemical agents
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