{"184241":{"#nid":"184241","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Aerial Platform Supports Development of Lightweight Sensors for UAVs","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA research team at the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Research Institute\u003C\/a\u003E (GTRI) is developing an airborne testing capability for sensors, communications devices and other airborne payloads. This aerial test bed, called the GTRI Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS), is based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by Griffon Aerospace and modified by GTRI.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Developing new sensor technologies that can be effectively employed from the air is a priority today given the rapidly increasing use of unmanned aircraft,\u0022 said Michael Brinkmann, a GTRI principal research engineer who is leading the work. \u0022Given suitable technology, small UAVs can perform complex, low-altitude missions effectively and at lower cost. The GAUSS system gives GTRI and its customers the ability to develop and test new airborne payloads in a rapid, cost effective way.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe current project includes development, installation and testing of a sensor suite relevant to many of GTRI\u2019s customers. This suite consists of a camera package, a signals intelligence package for detecting and locating ground-based emitters, and a multi-channel ground-mapping radar.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe radar is being designed using phased-array antenna technology that enables electronic scanning. This approach is more flexible and agile than traditional mechanically steered antennas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe combined sensor package is lightweight enough to be carried by the GAUSS UAV, which is a variant of the Griffon Outlaw ER aircraft and has a 13.6-foot wingspan and a payload capacity of approximately 40 pounds. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe aircraft navigates using a high precision global positioning system (GPS) combined with an inertial navigation system. These help guide the UAV, which can be programmed for autonomous flight or piloted manually from the ground. The airborne mission package also includes multi-terabyte onboard data recording and a stabilized gimbal that isolates the camera from aircraft movement.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHeavier sensor designs have several disadvantages, observed Mike Heiges, a principal research engineer who leads the GTRI team that is responsible for flying and maintaining the UAV platform. Larger sensors require larger unmanned aircraft to carry them, and those aircraft use bigger engines and must fly higher to avoid detection.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Rather than have your design spiral upwards until you\u0027re using very large and expensive aircraft, smaller sensors allow the use of smaller aircraft,\u0022 Heiges said.\u0026nbsp; \u0022A smaller UAV saves money and is logistically easier to support. But most important, it can gather information closer to the tactical level on the ground, where it\u0027s arguably most valuable.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GTRI team has developed a modular design that allows the GAUSS platform to be reconfigured for a number of sensor types. Among the possibilities for evaluation are devices that utilize light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology and chemical-biological sensing technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The overall concept for the GAUSS program is that the airplane itself will be simply a conveyance, and we can mount on it whatever sensor\/communication package is required,\u0022 said Brinkmann.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe radar package that GTRI is currently installing and testing is complex, he explained.\u0026nbsp; In addition to phased-array scanning capability, the radar operates in the X-band, is capable of five acquisition modes and can be programmed to transmit arbitrary waveforms.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022This radar is a very flexible system that will be able to do ground mapping, as well as detecting and tracking objects moving around on the ground,\u0022 Brinkmann said. \u0022These multiple sensing capabilities offer many possibilities for defense operations, along with search-and-rescue and disaster-recovery operations.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPossible applications include using the signals intelligence package to locate people buried in rubble by searching for cell phone signals, he said. In another scenario, a group of self-guided UAVs could be used to create an ad hoc cell phone network. That application could be potentially valuable in a post-disaster scenario where existing cell phone towers have been disabled, as happened after Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake and other events.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The GAUSS platform is extremely helpful for proof-of-principle development and testing new concepts for airborne sensors,\u0022 Brinkmann said. \u0022It gives GTRI a convenient and flexible base from which to pursue significant research in a variety of disciplines.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: John Toon (404-894-6986)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E) or Lance Wallace (404-407-7280)(\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA research team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) is developing an airborne testing capability for sensors, communications devices and other airborne payloads. This aerial test bed, called the GTRI Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS), is based on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) made by Griffon Aerospace and modified by GTRI.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A modified unmanned aerial vehicle will help GTRI researchers test airborne instrumentation."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2013-01-16 11:05:29","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:13:29","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-01-16T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-01-16T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"184191":{"id":"184191","type":"image","title":"Flying Test Bed","body":null,"created":"1449179062","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:22","changed":"1475894830","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:10","alt":"Flying Test Bed","file":{"fid":"196098","name":"gauss2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gauss2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gauss2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1179326,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gauss2_0.jpg?itok=DvAISsP7"}},"184201":{"id":"184201","type":"image","title":"Flying Test Bed2","body":null,"created":"1449179062","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:44:22","changed":"1475894830","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:47:10","alt":"Flying Test Bed2","file":{"fid":"196099","name":"gauss3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gauss3_1.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gauss3_1.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1527467,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gauss3_1.jpg?itok=VEn3O2sH"}}},"media_ids":["184191","184201"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"136","name":"Aerospace"},{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"55361","name":"airborne testing"},{"id":"415","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"167066","name":"sensors"},{"id":"1500","name":"UAV"},{"id":"3249","name":"unmanned aerial vehicle"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E(404) 894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}