More and more public safety agencies are building unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs, developing their operational models, and buying equipment. More and varied uses are developing constantly, and cooperation is growing among all levels of government, from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) down to local jurisdictions.
As with any new rapidly adopted technology, the current hardware offerings are often seen as “the” answer; but sometimes they’re just the “only” answer for right now, as is in the public safety UAV programs. Until now, only one hardware manufacturer has dominated the market and made significant contributions toward public safety UAV use. Competition is healthy, however, and hopefully changes to FAA restrictions and the public’s widening acceptance of the public safety use of UAVs will push further development by other hardware and software providers.
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Now that UAVs are standard pieces of equipment for many public safety agencies, UAV program personnel are wondering, what’s next? Better sensors? Smaller hardware? Streaming video? Something totally different? Yes! Many exciting technologies are on the horizon, and many are geared specifically toward public safety.
回避技术
Several companies are working on next-generation obstacle avoidance. Although many current hardware platforms offer some level of obstacle avoidance, they are far from perfect and often restrict the aircraft’s movement in situations where there is plenty of safe airspace to move around the obstacle. One standout offers real-time 3-D modeling for the aircraft to better understand its environment and allow the pilot to move through it. Although the current rendition of this aircraft has other limitations, it’s exciting to see this real-time processing being leveraged so inventively.
Rapid Orthomosaic Mapping
由于大多数机构使用其无人机在场景上获得情境意识，因此需要创建正矫正的高分辨率地图的能力。存在创建惊人的二-D和3-D渲染地图的程序，但其中许多是针对行业而不是公共安全的。因此，他们要么需要高端笔记本电脑来处理成像，要么要求您将图像发送到云中以进行远程处理，这通常需要10个小时或更长时间。提供了更快的选择，但分辨率更低，但仍然不方便。
但是，从头开始构建了一个计划，以使用平均公共安全无人机的标准低端公共安全笔记本电脑工作，并且非常快。现在，我们可以使用轻量级技术在接近实际的时间内处理现场2-D地图，并与其他传入单元共享这些正式图像。其他程序还通过其实时映射来推动优势。随着这变得越来越普遍，在现有软件中添加高分辨率地图，甚至在您的代理机构使用的任何映射系统上方的层中，以最低的成本而成为真正的可能性。
New and Advanced Sensors
最强大的部分公共安全AV are the sensors it deploys. High-resolution visual cameras with zoom function, thermal imaging cameras with enhancements, and low-light sensors are the standard that public safety agencies depend on. Looking beyond that, several companies have released small-format sensors that will be groundbreaking once they enter the public safety UAV market in force. Enhanced thermal imaging and range finding will certainly see quick adoption, but technologies from other industries using UAVs will also become “must have” tools. Laser imaging, detection, and ranging (LIDAR) uses light pulses to precisely measure distances (it is used in self-driving cars) and could become a tool for modeling buildings and to create maps for augmented reality (AR). Multi-spectral near- and mid-infrared scanners (currently used heavily in the agriculture UAVs) should be implemented in the wildland arena to preplan growth patterns, check for vegetative health, and gather information that could then be forwarded to predictive modeling software to look at historical fuel growth/moisture levels and the resultant fires that occurred (photo 1). UAVs are deploying handheld chemical sensors and radiological sensors using aftermarket brackets, and one manufacturer has even released a UAV-specific gas sensor. The next generation of chemical and radiological sensors could be further miniaturized and integrated such that they are simply part of every standard hazmat deployment, big or small (photo 2).
(1)作者的照片。
(2)
Augmented Reality
AR is among the most exciting, progressive technologies for public safety UAV. Several companies are working on impressive AR platforms. Two have programs that allow superimposed layers on top of the UAV’s camera layer to deliver street names, address numbers, and pretty much anything else you want to enter in a geographic information system layer. In the near future, this will allow the display of a multitude of information to the UAV pilot, which will greatly aid incident commanders (ICs) in decision making. The possibilities are endless and can be custom tailored for the agency. Possibly, this would include some of the amazing personnel tracking “beacons” coming into the fire service. Whether it’s tracking vehicles or individual crew members, this will be a reality for future ICs.
Multi-Endpoint Video Streaming
尽管这项技术已经以多种形式使用，但这确实是为什么公共安全无人用的无人机如此迅速采用的原因。三个提供商已经提供了仅提供软件的视频流选项，并且一种产品允许硬件解决方案。每个人都有优势和局限性，对您当地的无人机计划进行彻底检查应该有助于确定哪种最适合您。令人兴奋的是，通过多点视频，可以允许在现场操作的每个人或车辆（甚至那些不在现场）都可以访问正在收集的信息流。来自无人机以及地面车，人员和公共域相机（例如，红灯摄像头，公共区域摄像机等）的视频可以迅速集成到整体情境意识图片中。“未来”“玻璃驾驶舱”事件命令帖子现已上市，可以很快实施。
微无人机和群
在door flight is a fast-growing use for UAVs in public safety. For law enforcement agencies, micro UAVs flown with AR goggles help clear rooms and provide detailed information of the building’s interior before officers make entry. Seen as an apex model for increasing officer safety before building entry, flying micro UAVs is usually much more difficult, requiring significant training because of the lack of stabilizing functions on aircraft that small. True acrobatic flying is much harder to master than flying a UAV with multiple flight stabilizing features. Additionally, flying immersed in AR goggles is a new and often disorienting experience. New to many in public safety, these very small, fast-moving, and agile micro-craft, adapted from drone racing, provide the pilot with imagery often viewed through immersive goggles. Advances in the digital goggle technology are making this option more of a reality (photo 3).
(3)
使用无人机“蜂群”
首先，英特尔首次向公众介绍，可以迅速部署数十或数百个微无人机，以在很小的时间内收集大面积的数据。使用人工智能，机器学习和机器对机器通信，这些群可以像有机昆虫云一样旅行，相互传递信息以更好地完成任务。特别吸引人的是在主要灾区的部署，那里的微无人机可以迅速提供大量数据。
UTM and Remote ID
无人交通管理（UTM）和远程身份是国家航空航天管理局（NASA）和FAA的两个主要主题。类似于载人飞机的空中交通管制，无人机采用自动化UTM，最终将能够监视allaircraft in the sky. By reserving sections of sky for an upcoming mission, NASA’s STEReO project seeks to limit potential UAV-on-UAV incursions as the commercial sector grows in the next several years. The project is still in the early stage but shows great ingenuity and has sought to include public safety representatives in the discussion. Although the program still has to overcome obstacles, someday, UAV traffic will be monitored the same way that manned aircraft are monitored.
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远程标识将用虚拟的“车牌”识别每个无人机，就像载人航空的n名数字一样，可以在UTM中提供。但是，在当前表格中，UTM和远程ID通常与公共安全无人机操作不相容。它们限制了立即访问其他敞开空域的机会，并需要强大的，不间断的蜂窝连接，这两个连接都不是任何公共安全任务的保证。但是，随着对话的继续，消防服务和执法部门的强烈声音提出了案件，津贴和适应肯定会提高。
Cooperative Groups and Standardization
The ever-increasing cooperative public safety UAV groups forming across the country are the first step toward real standardization. Although limited generalized standardization from the FAA or in the National Institute of Standards and Technology Precision Flight props has its place, specific regional needs often drive public safety UAV operations. Whether it’s the availability of resources, geography, politics, demographics, or something else, public safety agencies’ call response and mitigation vary from region to region. Getting the job done safely, efficiently, and effectively is the hallmark of the modern fire service.
但是，在一个地区的有效性和有效性可能不在另一个地区。随着公共安全飞行员和无人机计划试图在我们的行业中标准化其无人机运营，请记住，每个代理商的需求和范围都不同。Droner回答者和其他团体正在制定包括所有地区在内的国家级标准。对话并与邻近的法律和消防机构会面，讨论您所在地区的无人机使用和需求。
Many agencies I speak to are unaware of others in their area starting unmanned flight programs, although every region in the country is seeing growth. Out of 10 neighboring agencies, at least six will have or be working on UAV programs. Regional operating groups are the most effective way to grow UAV programs and to gain administrative and public acceptance, assist with policy formation and training models, and provide mutual aid in the future.
The future of small unmanned aircraft in public safety and other applications will continue to advance. Fortunately, there’s widespread support at most levels of government for the safe use of UAVs in public safety. As we continue to move forward, it’s essential that we critique and shape new technologies into what我们需要完成任务；不要只是接受现成的技术。
制造商和供应商看到了公共安全UAV增长的潜力，并希望成为其中的一部分，但我们必须以他们的产品向正确的方向指导他们。因此，下次您与一个试图为您的无人机计划出售东西的人交谈时，请与您进行对话想，not just what they can提供.
参加您所在地区的无人机会议。学习和表达自己的声音是使您的需求融入现实的最佳方法。摊贩听！技术正在如此迅速地前进，以至于“不可能”的明天“不可能”将成为“标准”。对于那些从事这份工作的人来说，我们会认为我们会从消防发动机部署无人机来收集和将视觉和热数据传输到IC？还是向河中的滞留游泳者运送个人浮选设备？还是提供场景的近乎实时的矫正映射？未来真是太棒了！
RYAN GIFFORDis a captain/paramedic for the Sacramento (CA) Metropolitan Fire District (Metro Fire). He is also Metro Fire’s unmanned aerial vehicle program manager, a district computer-aided dispatch coordinator, and an operation safety officer for the C-Shift. Gifford is also a medical team manager for the FEMA urban search and rescue team from Sacramento, CA-TF7.
