Beyond Line of Sight
Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS)
operations are conducted primarily with satellite uplinks. Typically a Ground
Control Station (GCS) which can be located anywhere in the world will use a
satellite to communicate back and forth with the UAV (“Unmanned Aerial Vehicles”).
This of course adds complexity and cost to the operation when compared with
normal Line of Sight (LOS) operations.
Obviously, a satellite is needed to
receive and transmit data but what is often overlooked is bandwidth. Just like
your internet connection at home there is only so much “space in the pipes” for
the information to travel through. This can lead to bandwidth bottlenecks,
slowing down the transmission of data or even causing a lost data link
situation.
As in any situation, there must be a
cost benefit analysis in which we determine if the benefits of a system prove
worthy of the cost. In the case of military UAV operations the benefits are
great. The ability to have operators stationed in the CONUS while still being
able to conduct wartime operations with UAVs located on the other side of the
planet is too great of an advantage to ignore. The advantages outweigh the risks
of the satellite data link however, if operation is to continue, or even expand
into the commercial world, the bandwidth issue must be solved. Many things have
been proposed, from a dedicated satellite constellation just for UAV use to
relay systems on the ground. A lot of research must be done.
This can cause some human factors
issues. The percentage of people suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) amongst UAV operators is high. This is often attributed to the fact that
these operators wake up at home and “drive to war” like any other 9-5 office
job, then come home to have dinner with their families. This contrast on a
daily basis is thought to be the source (Dao, 2013).
PTSD is a problem mostly limited to
military operations. Other human factors that are experienced during these
operations will also be problematic in the civilian operation of unmanned
vehicles. Situational awareness is a huge problem for UAV operators. The
ability to “see-and-avoid” is almost nil because the camera view is limited.
Operating UAVs has been described by operators as “flying while looking through
a straw”.
The commercial possibilities with
BLOS operations are endless. Freight companies such as FedEx and UPS would
benefit immensely from reliable, unmanned aircraft. Freight would serve as an
excellent test bed for early commercial UAV operations. Flights could be
conducted coast to coast, thus eliminating the possibility of an accident
hurting people on the ground. Data could be collected from these flights and
used to further improve safety of the system until eventually, UAVs are
conducting most aerial operations short of transporting passengers (which is
only a matter of time in and of itself). These worldwide operations will
require reliable BLOS infrastructure that NEVER fails.
REFERENCES
Dao,
J. (22, February 2013). Drone Pilots are
found to get stress disorders much as those in combat do. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/23/us/drone-pilots-found-to-get-stress-disorders-much-as-those-in-combat-do.html?_r=0
No comments:
Post a Comment