Research & Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles Graduate Recruitment Visit March 9 th, 2006 Cory Dixon Ph.D. Candidate

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu2 The Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles at the University of Colorado at Boulder is a university, government, and industry partnership dedicated to advancing knowledge and capabilities in using unmanned vehicles for scientific experiments, collecting geospatial data, mitigation of natural and man-made disasters, and defense against terrorist and hostile military activities. Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles University of Colorado at Boulder Research & Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu3 RECUV Projects

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu4 Multidisciplinary Faculty (and students) Brian ArgrowAESPlatforms Penny AxelradAESGPS, Navigation John BennettCSDistributed Systems Tim BrownECE ITP Ad Hoc Comms Bill EmeryAESRemote Sensing Eric FrewAESCollaborative Nav Harvey GatesITPSwarming, OPVs Rick HanCSWireless Sensor Nets Dale Lawrence AESPlatforms and Controls YC LeeMEMEMS Tom Lookabaugh CS ITP Imagery Jim MaslanikAESAtmospheric Sci Kurt MauteAESAirframe Design Kamran MohseniAESPlatforms George Morgenthaler AESIndustry Outreach Todd MurpheyECERobotics Ray NettletonITPWireless Comms Scott PaloAESElectronics Lucy PaoECEControl Systems Zoya PopavicECEAntennas Doug SickerCS ITP Security Howard SnyderAESIndustry Outreach Alex WolfCSSoftware, Comms

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu5 MAV and UUV Dr. Kamran Mohseni Dr. Dale Lawrence

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu6 AUGNet Scenario 1: increase ground node connectivity. NOC Scenario 2: increase UAV mission range. We call such communication an AUGNet: Ad hoc UAV Ground Network

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu7 AUGNet WiFi Communication Hardware 16cm Common Hardware b PCMCIA card Soekris single board computer 0.1-1W Amplifier GPS (for monitoring) 256MB CF “personality” 21cm Environmental Enclosure UAV Mounting

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu8 Flight Range Table Mountain Radio Quiet Zone 15km north of the University of Colorado

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu9 Hardware-in-the-loop Testing Fast debugging in the lab! vs. Painful lessons in the field! FlightGear VirtualCockpit Operator Interface Simulator Ares-2 Ground Station

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu10 Networked UAV C 3

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu11 Modular –No need for a central F.C. but one can be easily added Future upgrade of comm system –Interface Board for each module –Subsystems Autopilot Interface Communication Supervisory Computer Sensor Interfaces In-house System Design –Microcontroller Interface Boards –Using commercial components –SW drivers already written Systems –Plug-n-Play modules as needed Naiad Avionics/Interface Board

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu12 Leashing Problem Radio Leashing: maintaining a communication link between a UAV and another mobile network node based on locally measured communication performance metrics. Leashing Goals –Maintain communication with a mobile base station in an unknown environment –Increase communication range of base station using UAV as airborne relay –Maximize ground coverage for on board sensors Leashing Applications –Communication in mountainous terrain, e.g. wildland firefighting –Perimeter surveillance –Stand-off tracking of ground vehicles

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu13 Network Chaining: maintaining a communication link between two disconnected nodes (networks) using only information available from the established communication links. Network Chaining Leashed chain for long-range sensing.

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu14 Position Based? Communication Range

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu15 Track SNR Level Sets SNR Orbital Leashing Constant SNR Chaining

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu16 Cooperative Search and Tracking Image courtesy of MLB Co.

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu17 Vision-Based Control x track y track z track P road ybyb xbxb zbzb

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu18 PROPOSAL: Cooperative Mobile Sensing Systems Research Thrusts WILDFIRE addresses the sensing, communications, and safety needs to support fire-fighting operations and increase capabilities for modeling and prediction; POLAR addresses heterogeneous mixes of sensor-integrated unmanned vehicles for novel, in-situ data acquisition in volumes that range from beneath the ocean surface into the troposphere; STORM addresses the challenges of volumetric in-situ data acquisition in severe storms, from the ground into the cloud.

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu19 Storm Science Needs –Thermodynamic and microphysical properties aloft in the rear-flank of supercell storms 10-Year Goal: –Routine sampling of the thermodynamic and microphysical properties of the supercell rear flank region above ground State of the Art –Balloon-borne soundings (generally unsuccessful) –Manned aircraft penetration (will not be repeated) –Attempts at thermodynamic retrieval from documentation of flow Barriers –Horizontal and vertical wind shear and turbulence –Thermodynamic and microphysical observations to complement mobile Doppler radar –Vehicle survival in hazardous environment –Rapid deployment, i.e., ‘scrambling’ vehicles

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu20 Mobile Doppler Radar Mobile mesonet UAVs sampling updraft region Field Command Center TornadoChaser Unraveling Tornadogenesis

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu21 Meteorological Aerial Research Sonde Paraglider Static Line Drop from Tubes Mounted on small UAV GPS, XBee Pro Radio, Pressure Sensor mounted on PCB Temperature sensor in vehicle nose cone Two separate power systems –Avionics –Vehicle Parafoil detached upon landing

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu22 MARS Operations Overview Table Mountain Radio Quiet Zone Picture from Reference 1

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu23 Flying is FUN!

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu24 On the Range!

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu25 Not Always Hard Work

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu26 Visitors

3/9/2006http://recuv.colorado.edu27 They Really Do Fly