ASCI 637, Assignment 5.3, UAS Use

Source Article:

sUAS News Staff.  (2016, February 23).  UAV Challenge Medical Express 2016.  sUAS News.  Retrieved from http://www.suasnews.com/2015/02/uav-challenge-medical-express-2016/

From 2007 to 2014, an annual competition known as the UAV Outback Challenge was organized by the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA).  The competition was staged out of Kingaroy Airport in Queensland, Australia.  The UAV Outback Challenge’s goal was for teams operating unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to conduct a search and rescue (SAR) mission into the Australian Outback and drop a water bottle within a designated zone.  Teams were awarded points based on mission time, accuracy of task performance, and technical merit of the team’s aircraft (Roberts et al., 2015, p. 2-3).

            The main task of the competition centers on “Outback Joe”.  “Outback Joe” is a colorfully attired dummy placed in a remote location in the Queensland Outback.  The competitors’ tasks are to operate a UAS to locate the dummy and then perform a specific task.  From 2007 to 2014, the task was to drop a water bottle within a 100 meter radius from “Outback Joe”.  In 2014, four teams successfully completed the objectives of the competition (Roberts et al, 2015, p. 2,4).  In 2015, ARCAA announced a successor competition named the UAV Challenge Medical Express to be held in Dalby, Queensland.  The objectives of the contest will be for competitors to operate up to two UAS simultaneously to locate “Outback Joe”, land near the dummy, allow a contest official to load a simulated blood sample onto the aircraft, and return the UAS and payload safely to the point of origin (sUAS News Staff, 2016).  The search area will be larger than the previous contest and the complexity of the contest has increased.  The terrain that “Outback Joe” will be set will also require UAS to be capable of vertical take-off and landing (UAV Challenge Staff, 2016).

            The contests held by ARCAA demonstrate the utility of unmanned aircraft in SAR roles.  The tasks are realistic, challenging, and inspire innovation by the competitors.  The lessons learned and usefulness demonstrated by the competing teams may motivate civic, state/provincial, and national government agencies to form or allow UAS to be used more widely in these missions.  Unmanned aircraft can augment manned SAR assets to provide a wider range of coverage and venture into situations that may be too hazardous and constricting for manned aircraft.  One example is Texas EquuSearch, a privately operated group that conducts search and rescue operations for missing persons.  UAS have been deployed on previous operations, which have brought the group in conflict with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Both Texas EquuSearch and the FAA have cited safety as the primary motivation for their actions (AP Staff, 2014).  Competitions such as those held by ARCAA may assist in gaining more support and acceptance of UAS in SAR operations.

References:

Associated Press (AP) Staff.  (2014, July 18).  Texas Search Group to Resume Using Drones Despite FAA Admonition.  The Dallas Morning News.  Retrieved from http://www.dallasnews.com/news/state/headlines/20140718-texas-search-group-to-resume-using-drones-despite-faa-admonition.ece

Roberts, J., Frousheger, D., Williams, B., Campbell, D., & Walker, R.  (2015, December 18).  How the UAV Outback Challenge Was Finally Won.  IEEE Robotics & Automation Magazine.  Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5JgqjkRDqw8RG1Ibjg5RkRxbjA/view

UAV Challenge Staff.  (2016).  Medical Express FAQ [Fact Sheet].  Retrieved from https://uavchallenge.org/medical-express/medical-express-faq/