Lessons Learned: Experiences in UAS Sensor Operations Supporting Disaster Scenarios (Wildfires) in the United States

摘要

Recent collaborative efforts between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the U.S. Forest Service showcased capabilities for improving wildfire sensor data delivery from unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The Western States UAS Fire Imaging Mission was designed to exploit new autonomous sensor systems operating on the NASA Ikhana UAS, a platform with long-endurance / large payload capabilities. The mission series consisted of demonstrating UAS flight capabilities and real-time sensor-derived data distribution to fire management personnel. During the US fire seasons in 2006-2008, the NASA Ikhana UAS was outfitted with the Autonomous Modular Scanner (AMS) - Wildfire instrument and flown over numerous major wildfire complexes, delivering real-time, on-board-processed data to Incident Fire Managers and to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The mission series showcased long-duration (～22-hour) and long-range (>4500 nm) UAS operations, an innovative fire sensor design, realtime automated on-board image processing, Over-The-Horizon (OTH) satellite data communications, and a collaborative decision portal for ingesting, sharing, and disseminating wildfire information. The successful implementation and demonstration missions led to the Ikhana and AMS-Wildfire sensor being called upon to support National Emergency operations during major firestorms that struck the western US in 2006,2007 and early summer 2008. The systems demonstrated during the missions are at high technology readiness levels (TRL) and are ready for adaptation to support disaster management efforts. However, there are still implementation barriers regarding the use of unmanned vehicles for these types of missions. This paper discusses the 2006-2008 mission series, describes the technology successes, and identifies the implementation barriers encountered.