Unmanned Plane Tracks Marine Mammals From Air

Sunday, February 24, 2008

A remote-controlled plane will be tested for use in counting dugongs and whales in Moreton Bay next month.

Australian researchers are investigating whether Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are a better way to count marine mammals than traditional methods such as using boats or manned aircraft.

Migrating humpbacks and dugongs will be captured via a specialized video camera system attached to the three-meter long plane.

The plane costs about $100,000, has a wingspan of five meters, a maximum range of 1500 kilometers and a top speed of 200 kilometers an hour.

Marine mammal survey and tracking experts from UQ, James Cook University (JCU) and The University of Newcastle are working with Jimboomba UAV business, Aerocam Australia on the test flights.

The project's chief investigators are Dr Amanda Hodgson from UQ's Center for Marine Studies and Dr Mike Noad from UQ's School of Veterinary Science.

They want to find out if the drone can replace manned aircraft to reduce costs, human risk, and animal disturbance, and improve animal detection, location and species identification.

Ultimately they hope to improve knowledge of marine mammal abundance and distribution.

Aerocam Australia owner Greg Smith will fly the plane using a combination of automated and manual controls via a laptop computer.

Dr Hodgson said there had been only one documented trial of unmanned aerial counting of various wildlife in the United States including manatees.

Dugongs have been surveyed from the air in Queensland since the 1980s.

There have been no aerial survey deaths in Australia but at least three aircraft crashes, killing eight marine mammal researchers in other parts of the world during aerial surveys of marine mammals.

Dr Hodgson and Dr Noad hope UAVs will reduce costs of aerial surveys and having visual records of sightings increases the accuracy of identification.

Their project proposal says the conservation and management of many marine mammal species depends on monitoring population status by conducting aerial surveys from manned aircraft.

Dr Hodgson said UAV aerial surveys of humpbacks off North Stradbroke Island were due for July this year with dugong surveys in Moreton Bay and Hervey Bay due for October.

The $87,000 project was funded by a Federal Government's Australian Center for Applied Marine Mammal Science grant and in-kind support from JCU and the University of Newcastle.

Source: University of Queensland

Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/aviation/p279_02.html

Time Stamp: 2/24/2008 at 8:53:35 PM CST

Air-traffic expert: Major reforms needed to fix the industry

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Several recent reports of near misses by commercial airplanes have focused attention on the health of the country's air-traffic control system, but a Purdue University aviation expert says near misses are just one symptom of what's ailing an overburdened industry.

"Anytime you have humans involved in any process, there is a chance of error," said Michael Nolan, a professor of aviation technology and director of Purdue's air-traffic control program. "Ultimately, the real problem is not with the controllers but with the constant battle between capacity of the system and increased demand."

Nolan, a former air-traffic controller who wrote a book on the system's history, says that with the number of passengers growing at about 5 percent a year, near misses, delays and airport congestion will continue until the system is overhauled.

"Air travel in this country is extremely safe, and we haven't had a major fatal crash in several years," he says. "The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) has been told that safety is first priority, and it is doing its job. But in terms of making changes to the system, what incentive is there?"

Nolan says reform would take new, bold ideas and a monumental and costly effort.

"President Eisenhower was frustrated by the fact that driving across the U.S. was nearly impossible, so he initiated the idea for the interstate system in the 1950s," he says. "It's going to take a similar effort to truly change the problems we have in the airline industry."

Nolan says even in the busiest cities, there is still room in the sky for more airplanes, so reducing the space between planes could be safely done, although navigation and other systems would have to be modified. Current FAA guidelines state that airplanes should be 1,000 feet apart vertically and 3 miles apart horizontally.

"However, the major problem is not so much room in the skies, but crowded hubs," he says.

Nolan says no new airports have been constructed in the last two decades, and new proposals prompt concerns about noise and pollution, not to mention cost.

"Unfortunately, it may take an instigating event, such as a major accident, for someone to look at a permanent solution," Nolan says. "Americans love to fly, and they want to fly on big, commercial jets into major hubs. But we must keep in mind that as the number of flights increases, so does the amount of work for the air-traffic controllers, making accidents more likely. There are solutions, but there is no quick fix."

Source: Purdue University

Permalink: http://www.sflorg.com/comm_center/aviation/p231_01.html

Time Stamp: 2/5/2008 at 1:30:52 PM CST