Unmanned Aerial Systems Considerations for First Responder - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

DHS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Unmanned Aerial Systems

Considerations for First Responder Organizations

Stephen Hancock

Director of Special Projects First Responders Group Science and Technology Directorate Stephen.Hancock@hq.dhs.gov February 28, 2017

Small UAS vs Manned for First Responders

• Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAS) are rising in popularity as

supplement to or replacement for conventional manned aerial photography/reconnaissance for a variety of purposes

• Benefits
• Less expensive
• Better (in some cases)
• Faster (to operationally deploy at an incident, not in actual speed)
• DIFFERENT: can do things manned aircraft cannot
• Fly really close to buildings, persons of interest, etc.
• Potential to fly inside structures to assist First Responders (FR)

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Section 107

• Went into effect August 29, 2016
• First step to bringing UAS into the National Airspace System
• Greatly eases administrative and operational burdens
• RESULT: EXPECT THE DRONE BOOM TO REALLY EXPLODE!
• More and more FR agencies will be looking to use UASs
• Hobby use will grow geometrically
• FR agencies will have to contend with:
• Privately used UASs “getting in the way”
• Nefarious use of UASs by “bad actors”
• Public distrust of “government use of UAS

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Typical FR Missions

• SWAT and other LE support
• A few localities are experimenting using

quadcopter for surveillance and responder location tracking

• Fire (structures and wildfires)
• Structures: quadcopters for fire

surveillance and responder location

• Wildfire: fixed wing for surveillance, IR

packages to detect fire under canopy

• Bomb Robot Support
• Small quadcopters to aid operators

guiding robots to target

• SAR
• Urban: quadcopters for surveillance of

buildings

• Other sensors: FRG piloting FINDER

and cell phone signal detection

• Wilderness: IR cameras for detecting

body heat; video for open areas

• Damage reports
• High resolution cameras required
• Quadcopters may be preferred for

close-up work

• Traffic Forensics
• A potential high-payoff use: aerial

cameras can clear a scene in 20-30min, versus typical 2-3 hours with conventional methods

• Camera resolution is a major stumbling

block

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Legal Issues

• Warrants for use:
• Some states require a warrant for UAS law enforcement operations
• Overflights:
• Some states prohibit flying over private property that is not connected

to the mission

• PII and privacy
• Some jurisdictions allow only live viewing -- no storage of any

video/still files

• Others have varying restrictions on length of retention, access, chain
• f custody
• Ground station versus drone capture
• Requirements may vary on whether images may be captured on the

drone or on the ground

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sUAS vs Manned Video Package

• 9 ounces
• Power consumption 4W
• 2-axis stabilization
• IR, visible light, laser

pointer

• Much less expensive
• 35 lbs
• Power consumption

120W

• Better stabilization,

vibration reduction etc.

• IR, visible light, laser

pointer, laser rangefinder

• $300K range

High end professional packages compared:

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Fixed versus Rotary Wing

Rotary wing Fixed wing

Tethered Hover

Recreational Grade Military Grade Hand Launchable Experimental Fuel Cell Powered

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Fixed versus Rotary Wing

Fixed wing

• Endurance up to 8 hours +
• Distance (but limited by line of

sight)

• Relatively silent
• Often larger payloads
• Suitable for higher altitude work

Video Implications:

• Rural SAR, wildfires, high level

reconnaissance

Rotary wing

• Less range and endurance (typically

< 45 minutes)

• Maneuverable in close urban

quarters

• Can operate indoors
• Typically for low altitude work

Video Implications

• Close in tactical operations, urban

SAR, any indoor need, person of interest identification/tracking

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Both

• Typically proprietary with limited

interchangeability of payloads

• Thus difficult to customize

systems to use case Video Implications

• Available equipment may not be

useable for some applications

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Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS)

The RAPS Program*

• Essentially “Consumer

Reports” for sUAS – standardized testing of sUAS packages to carry out common public safety missions

• Reports are LE Sensitive,

available to qualified users

• Interpret results based on your

specific needs

RAPS Guidance on Needs

• “No company is ‘your sUAS

solution’ until you really understand your needs.”

• Too vague:
• “We need to have air support and

cannot afford manned aircraft.”

• Better:
• “We serviced 37 high-risk search

warrants last year in unsafe tactical environments where pre-service aerial

• bservation would have enhanced our
• fficers’ safety.”

RAPS has a community of practice on communities.firstresponder.gov. Apply for membership there. * RAPS tests primarily crafted to test sUAS against CBP scenarios

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System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER)

Purpose

• To conduct objective, relevant,
• perationally oriented

assessments and validations of commercially available emergency responder technologies.

• Results available to FR

communities.

Products

• Tech Notes
• Assessment Reports
• Focus Group Reports
• Handbooks
• Market Survey Reports
• Application Notes
• https://www.dhs.gov/science-and-

technology/saver

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SAVER sUAS Testing Status

Test Agent

• Developing FR specific

scenarios

• Working with inputs from

FR agencies

• Looking to the First

Responder Resource Group (FRRG) for help in validation

• Need to develop

measurable performance specifications/criteria

Test Requirements

• National Urban Security

Technology Laboratory (NUSTL)

• Participating with team of

DHS offices to evaluate sites for potential sUAS testing

• FRG scenarios are

extremely broad and challenging

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Use Case vs Resolution Needed

• Homicide case
• Needed to identify 2 cm drops of blood
• n a driveway
• Phantom 3 would have to be 15’ off

ground with limited area of view

• Even this degree of resolution may not

be good enough for evidence in court

• SWAT and LE operations
• May need less than one foot resolution
• Same aircraft could be at 230’ altitude

and see more than 400’ x 300’ area

• Implication: Resolution needs for

use cases determine equipment, available flight plans, logistics

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2 cm Drops of blood

• n the ground

15 feet 230 feet

Sees 425’ x 320’ area Sees 24’ x 18’ area 1 ft Fugitive

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Video Mission Tradeoffs

• Endurance
• Rotary wing vehicles severely limited compared with fixed wing
• Altitude (tradeoff with resolution)
• Doubling the altitude increases the coverage by factor of 4, but

resolution is cut in half

• Speed
• Sometimes high speed is a mission priority (wildfires, wilderness

SAR)

• Sometimes completely stationary tethered surveillance is necessary
• Line of sight requirements
• Relaxation of line-of-sight requirements will take some time
• For immediate future, count on continued line-of-sight restrictions

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Final Thoughts

• UAV today is growing fast, with incredible competition
• If you can clearly define your requirements, you can often work with

manufacturers to customize products to suit your needs

• CAUTION: Be sure you are complying with fairness requirements in

acquisition requirements

• Collaborate: share lessons learned
• Experienced videographers find that perspective from air makes them

change some approaches – use wider angles, different perspectives

• This is only learned from experience
• FRG established a sUAS community of practice for first responders

using UAVs to share tips, experiences, approaches

• Join and share your thoughts on how to make it more useful!

https://communities.firstresponder.gov

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