UAS DACUM Model
Current and Future UAS Industry Trends
Trends
|
Explanation
|
Beyond
Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)
|
Fixed wing
aircraft flying along rail lines. ~5-hour missions
|
Rail
inspection
|
Mapping
yards and switches
|
Pipeline
Inspection
|
|
Advanced
Ground Control GPS
Technology
|
New
technology that allows for faster collection of Ground Control Tie-Ins.
Aeropoints as an example
|
Autonomous
Delivery
|
(Concept):
Amazon delivering packages via UAS
|
Construction
|
Site
scans, progress reports, overview images
|
High
Resolution Remote Sensing
|
|
Airspace
Integration
|
Flying
in/near airports & Runway inspection
|
Swarm
Technology
|
Multiple
autonomous platforms working together to complete one goal.
|
Natural
Resource Management
|
Resource
inventory, change analysis, productivity and condition analysis.
|
Windmill
Inspection
|
Reducing
operation & maintenance costs
|
Manned-Unmanned
Team (MUMT)
|
Drones
and manned aircraft utilizing same airspace or target area to collective
gather data or accomplish similar task.
|
Vegetation
Mapping
|
Monitoring
vegetation growth using hyperspectral NIR
|
Water
column mapping
|
Using
differences in reflected/refracted light received by a sensor to map vertical
columns of water based on depth.
|
Hazard
Risk Assessment (weather, geological, environmental, etc)
|
Fault line
mapping, water drainage mapping, flood plain mapping, slope stability
analysis, forest fire risk analysis
|
Real
Estate Marketing
|
Arial
images of various angles of the house/property, neighborhood images
|
All
weather operations
|
Weatherized
airframe
|
Site
Surveying
|
Matching
point clouds with CAD elevation maps
|
Energy
|
Used to
assess pipelines and energy networks
|
Light
Shows /leisure /recreation
|
Companies
like Intel use drones for entertainment purposes
|
Accident
Reconstruction
|
Post-crash
scene scans, gather information to show police, juries, investigators, etc.
|
Search and
Rescue
|
Emergency
services searching vast areas for missing persons
|
RC Racing
|
Innovation
through commercial application utilizing the entertainment markets.
|
Firefighting
|
Assistance
in finding safe routes of use. Thermal
imaging and analysis.
|
Police
|
Documenting
crime scenes, surveying disaster sites, accident & traffic management
|
Emergency
(medical)
|
Delivery
of medical supplies (Zipline company)
|
Cinematography
|
Take a
video of it
|
Agriculture
|
Can
collect crop count and assess crop quality
|
Surveillance
|
Can be
used to monitor any high security area
|
Deep
learning flight controls and data processing
|
Unsupervised
data management and classification.
|
Full
Motion Video
|
Video
Taken in MISB format. Video has bounding Geospatial coordinates
|
Geospatial
Video
|
Video
connected to UAS log file so it has coordinates
|
Policy and
Regulation
|
More
structure to UAS Commercial Remote Pilot License Categories. Also relates to
certification of different classes of aircraft.
|
Increasing
Markets and Applications of Tethered UAS platforms
|
Tethered
power supply UAS platforms have the potential to serve for long term
surveillance and other services where
|
More
efficient Solar Panel Arrays
|
Increased
flight times can come from axillary solar panels that provide trickle charge
to the electric power source to the UAS
|
UAS Critical Skills and Knowledge
Skillset/Knowledge
|
UAS Course Applied to:
|
Project
Management
|
AT 203
|
Geospatial
Knowledge
|
AT 319
AT 309
|
Cartographic
Knowledge
|
NA
|
Post-Processing
of UAS data
|
AT 319
(Small component)
|
Integration
with GIS and RS software
|
NA
|
Quick-thinking/adaptability
|
Throughout
curriculum
|
Regulation
Knowledge
|
AT 144
AT 286
|
Repair and
Maintenance
|
AT 219
|
Flight
Proficiency
|
AT 219
AT 309
|
Sensor
Integration/Familiarity
|
AT 309
|
Remote
Sensing
|
AT 319
|
Quality
control of data
|
NA
|
Data
management/Computer Science
|
NA
|
Integration
with manned aircraft
|
AT 286
|
Potential/Future
Applications
|
AT 409
|
Technical
Writing
|
AT 409,
ENG 420
|
Programming
|
NA
|
Management
|
Entrepreneurship
Certificate
|
Marketing
|
|
Graphic
Communication
|
|
Ethics
|
AT 309 AT
319
|
Soldering
|
AT 219 AT
309 AT 319
|
Systems
Engineering
|
Lightly
throughout curriculum
|
Electronics
design
|
|
UAS Technician Key Duties
Mission Planning
|
Description
|
Airworthiness
Inspection
|
Ensuring
aircraft is in a safe condition to fly and in compliance to manufactures
guidelines.
|
Airframe
integrity inspection
|
Checking
critical parts of the aircraft for structural integrity. Search for
deficiencies that may limit flight characteristics
|
Find the
highest object in flight path
|
For
collision avoidance, ensures that your flight altitude will not hit any
obstacles
|
Gather
weather data
|
Weather
must be within the aircraft’s and your personal limitations
|
Airspace
analysis
|
Must get
permission in certain airspace
|
Data
capture and quality considerations
|
Must know how to read sensors and calibrate equipment correctly to get accurate readings.
|
Sensor
selection
|
Choosing
the correct sensor for the mission at hand
|
Geospatial Duties
|
|
Plan out
missions using various forms of geospatial data
|
|
Understanding
capabilities and limits of Sensors and UAS platforms
|
|
Being able
to apply the right sensor and platform to the job
|
|
Being able
to properly gather Ground Control Points with survey grade GPS
|
|
UAS Maintenance
|
|
Ensure
proper record keeping
|
Proper
record keeping of replaced and repaired parts. Proper record keeping of
flight time and incidents.
|
Standardization
of maintenance techniques (like AC 43.13)
|
|
Maintain
Scheduled Maintenance Plan/Logs
|
|
Software Troubleshooting
|
|
Regular
inspection of flight critical parts
|
|
Knowledge
of UAS maintenance software and applications
|
|
Maintaining
Field Kit
|
|
Flight Operations
|
|
Maintain
Safe Conduct Throughout Flight
|
|
Crew
Management
|
|
Preflight Operations
|
|
Post-flight
checklists
|
|
Proper
Debriefing
|
|
What
belongs in a UAS field kit
|
|
Repair
techniques and procedures
|
|
Data
Capture Considerations
|
|
Communication
|
|
Customer
interaction
|
|
Marketing
/Networking
|
|
Non-crew
teamwork
|
|
Crew Resource
Management
|
|
A lot of ideas we typed and talked about could have been grouped together into less detailed points but I left it as is, so that anyone looking at the DACUM could see that there are many things drones can be used for. We labeled this applications as Current and Future Industry Trends. Some of the main points that we covered in this section were: Construction, Surveillance, Transportation, Communication, Mapping, and Geospatial video. We wrote a brief description on each item we covered to help define and explain each topic.
We made a UAS Critical Skills and Knowledge section next. This was to show what we had learned and what we didn't learn in classes so far. As you can see we have learned skills that have helped us strengthen our UAS background. We did think of some skills that this program in Purdue is lacking, and that we would like to see in the future. Things like Cartographic Knowledge, Quality control of data, programming, and Data Management are some things that this program was lacking. We made sure to include these in our critical skills and knowledge sections, to clearly show readers what Purdue's program could work on, or what they should include if making their own program. Some of the things we have learned were focused in multiple courses where they could have tried to teach us some of the things listed earlier instead.
The last section we made was Technician Key Duties. There was some cross over between this section and the last. We focused mission planning, safety, maintenance, and operations in this section. We added descriptions for the mission planning portion. This portion was important because it brought the DACUM to a more technical side.
DACUM's are a great way for people to share information about what they are learning, and what they think other people should learn about a specific topic. UAS is a new and growing industry. In order to grow to its full potential, people need to know more about them and what they can do. If we get this information out it will help with the growth of UAS and it will help advance UAS further. With more people interested in UAS, more applications will appear and the industry will grow.