Robohub.org
 

Carrick Detweiler: Micro-UAS for Prescribed Fire Ignition | CMU RI Seminar

by
22 January 2017



share this:

Link to video on YouTube

Abstract: Unmanned Aerial System (UASs) are increasingly being used for everything from crop surveying to pipeline monitoring. They are significantly cheaper than the traditional manned airplane or helicopter approaches to obtaining aerial imagery and sensor data. The next generation of UASs, however, will do more than simply observe. In this talk, I will discuss recent advances we have made in the Nimbus Lab in developing the first UAS that can ignite prescribed fires. Prescribed fire is a critical tool used to improve habitats, combat invasive species, and reduce fuels to prevent wildfires. In the United States alone federal and state governments use prescribed burns on over 3 million acres each year, with private land owners prescribing even more. Yet this activity can be extremely dangerous, especially when performing interior ignitions in difficult terrain. In this talk, I will discuss the history of this project and the challenges associated with flying near and igniting fires. In addition, I will detail the mechanical and software design challenges we have had to overcome in this project. I will also present the results of the first two prescribed burns that were successfully ignited by a UAS. Finally, I will discuss automated software analysis techniques we are developing to detect and correct system errors to reduce risk and increase safety when using UASs to ignite prescribed burns.




John Payne





Related posts :



Automate 2023 recap and the receding horizon problem

“Thirty million developers” are the answer to driving billion-dollar robot startups, exclaimed Eliot Horowitz of Viam last week at Automate.
01 June 2023, by

We are pleased to announce our 3rd Reddit Robotics Showcase!

The 2021 and 2022 events showcased a multitude of fantastic projects from the r/Robotics Reddit community, as well as academia and industry. This year’s event features many wonderful robots including...
30 May 2023, by

European Robotics Forum 2023 was a success!

One of the highlights of the conference for us was our workshop "Supporting SMEs in Bringing Robotics Solutions to Market", where experts gave insights on how DIHs can create a greater impact for SMEs and facilitate a broad uptake and integration of robotics technologies in the industry.
28 May 2023, by

Helping robots handle fluids

Researchers create a new simulation tool for robots to manipulate complex fluids in a step toward helping them more effortlessly assist with daily tasks.
27 May 2023, by

Robot Talk Episode 50 – Elena De Momi

In this week's episode of the Robot Talk podcast, host Claire Asher chatted to Elena De Momi from the the Polytechnic University of Milan all about surgical robotics, artificial intelligence, and the upcoming ICRA robotics conference in London.
26 May 2023, by

Building a Tablebot

There was a shortage of entries in the tablebot competition shortly before the registration window closed for RoboGames 2023. To make sure the contest would be held, I entered a robot. Then I had to build one.
23 May 2023, by





©2021 - ROBOTS Association


 












©2021 - ROBOTS Association