ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION TECHNOLOGIES.

AS WE'VE DONE THESE PAST FEW WEEKS, I'M GOING TO WELCOME

HANNAH GRUNE FIRST TO COME UP AND JUST TAKE CARE OF SOME

HOUSEKEEPING AND THEN I'LL TAKE OVER AND INTRODUCE OUR

SPEAKER. >> THANK YOU.

WELCOME, EVERYONE, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WATCHING VIA

THE WEB, WE ASK THAT YOU PLEASE SIGN IN WITH THE NUMBER

OF PEOPLE WATCHING AT YOUR LOCATION IN THE CHAT BOX AT

THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND SIDE. AND WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT

OUR VIEWERSHIP RATES TO THE U.S. D.O.T. AND WOULD

APPRECIATE HAVING THE MOST ACCURATE COUNT POSSIBLE.

FOR STUDENTS IN THE ROOM, IF YOU ARE WAITING ON A WRITEUP

BACK FROM ME, PLEASE SEE ME AFTER THE SEMINAR IS OVER.

FOR THE LIVE AUDIENCE, PLEASE HOLD ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS

UNTIL THE END. WE'LL BE PASSING AROUND THIS

MICROPHONE SO THAT THE WEB AUDIENCE CAN HEAR WHAT'S BEING

SAID. SO PLEASE MAKE SURE TO HOLD IT

CLOSE TO YOUR FACE. THANK YOU.

>> I'M HONORED TO INTRODUCE

SPEAKER TODAY. IT TOOK ME A WHILE TO CONVINCE

HIM TO GIVE THIS SEMINAR. DEMOZ GEBRE-EGZIABHER.

HE'S BEEN INVOLVED IN THIS AREA OF WORKING WITH DRONES

AND UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES FOR QUITE SOME TIME.

AND I REMEMBER HE WORKED WITH THE MINNESOTA STATE PATROL

HELICOPTER FOLKS, LOOKING AT THE RISK OF DRONES MIXING IT

UP WITH STATE PATROL HELICOPTERS, AND WHAT ARE SOME

OF THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, AND THAT WAS IN 2006,

2005, IN THAT TIME FRAME, SO ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO BEFORE ALL

THE BUZZ ON DRONES THAT WE HEAR ABOUT IN THE NEWSPAPER

THESE DAYS. PROFESSOR DEMOZ

GEBRE-EGZIABHER HAS BEEN ALL OVER THE PLACE.

HE DID -- HE RECEIVED HIS Ph PhD AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY.

HE WAS A COMMISSIONED NAVAL OFFICER FOR SIX, SEVEN YEARS.

LEFT THE SERVICE AS A LIEUTENANT IN THE NAVY.

HE WORKED WITH THE NAVAL C.E. SYSTEMS COMMAND IN WASHINGTON,

D.C., FOR QUITE A NUMBER OF YEARS.

AND IS AN INSTRUMENTED-RATED PILOT.

AND I'M SURE THERE WILL BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS AFTER THIS

TALK. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, LET'S

WELCOME PROFESSOR GEBRE EGZIABHER.

[ Applause ]

IS THE MICROPHONE ON? ALL RIGHT.

SO THANK YOU, MAX, FOR THAT WELCOME, THE INVITE, AND THANK

YOU, EVERYONE, FOR BEING HERE THIS AFTERNOON.

I'M GOING TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW ABOUT UNMANNED AIRCRAFT

SYSTEMS, U.A.S., SOMETIMES CALLED.

TALK ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES FOR USING THESE IN TRAFFIC AND

INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEILLANCE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES.

AND I'M GOING TO SPEND MORE TIME ON THE CHALLENGE SIDE.

BECAUSE WE'LL SEE THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS WE CAN DO WITH

THESE VEHICLES, THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT PEOPLE

HAVE AND THEIR VISION OF DOING WITH THEM.

BUT ALL OF THESE COME WITH SOME CHALLENGES THAT WE NEED

TO ADDRESS BEFORE WE CAN ACTUALLY USE THESE ON A

DAY-TO-DAY APPLICATION. I'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT

THE OPPORTUNITIES, ALSO TALK ABOUT THE CHALLENGES, SOME OF

THE THINGS WE'RE DOING HERE AT THE U OF M TO ADDRESS SOME OF

THESE CHALLENGES. SO, WITHOUT -- BEFORE WE GET

INTO THE TOP -- THE MEAT OF THE TOPIC, LET'S KIND OF

DEFINE SOME BACKGROUNDS BACKGROUND TERMS

AND IDEAS, BASICALLY. SO, FIRST OF ALL, UNMANNED

AERIAL VEHICLES, THEY'RE BASICALLY AIRCRAFT THAT ARE

OPERATED AUTONOMOUSLY, ALL RIGHT, COULD BE COMPLETELY

AUTONOMOUSLY OR THERE COULD BE SOMEONE ON THE GROUND REMOTELY

OPERATING THEM, CALLED DRONES, THAT TERM BOTHERS ME, I GUESS

I'M LOSING, AND THAT'S BECOMING THE STANDARD TERM SO

WE'LL CALL THEM DRONES OR THEY COULD BE CALLED R.P.V.s OR

R.O.V.s, ANOTHER TERM THAT'S USED FOR THEM.

THERE'S ALL KINDS OF ENVISION ENVISIONED APPLICATIONS FOR

THESE VEHICLES. THEY'RE BEING ENVISIONED FOR

WHAT ARE CALLED THE 3Ds OR THE DANGEROUS, THE DIRTY AND

THE DULL MISSIONS. AND IF YOU WANT TO LIST SOME

OF THE DANGEROUS ONES, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT'S SOME OF THE

THINGS WE DO AT THE U.A.V. LAB LAB, FLIGHT TESTING, THEY'RE A

NICE SURROGATE FOR BIG AIRPLANES, WHERE IN THE PAST

YOU'D HAVE TO PUT A TEST PILOT IN, NOW YOU CAN PUT A UNMANNED

AIRCRAFT IN AND DO THE RISKY WITH IT.

THE DIRTY, TALK ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL

ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING, THEY'RE BEING USED, FOR

EXAMPLE, TO MONITOR SMOKESTACKS OF FACTORIES AND

SORT OF THINGS LIKE THAT. PRECISION AGRICULTURE, WE'RE

USING FOR CHEMICAL SPRAYING, PERHAPS.

AND THEN YOU GOT THE DULL SIDE OF IT, WHICH IS, WELL, DULL

NOT IN THE SENSE THAT IT'S BORING, BUT IT'S CONTINUOUSLY

LOOKING AT INFRASTRUCTURE, INSPECTING SOMETHING MIGHT BE

DULL, SO THEY COULD TAKE THAT KIND OF DULLNESS AWAY FROM

HUMAN OPERATOR. SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF

APPLICATIONS THEY'RE BEING LOOKED AT FOR.

WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO IN THIS TALK, I'M GOING TO LOOK AT

JUST TWO CASE STUDIES, TWO CASES OF WHERE WE COULD USE

THEM IN TRAFFIC AND INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEILLANCE,

AND THEN TALK ABOUT THE LIMITATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH

THEM. AND I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON WHAT

ARE CALLED SMALL OR CLASS 1 AND 2U.A.V.s, THEY COME IN

ALL KINDS OF SIZE AND RANGES. THE GLOBAL HAWK SHOWN HERE IS

ABOUT A 30,000 U.A.V., HAS A WING SPAN ABOUT 130 FEET,

ABOUT THE SIZE OF A 737, IF YOU WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT

THIS WAY. COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ISSUES,

DIFFERENT PROBLEMS, WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON THESE THAT

ARE THE MOST RELEVANT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING

ABOUT TODAY. SMALL U.A.V.s.

THE CLASSIFICATION, I SAID THERE'S A LARGE SPAN OF

CAPABILITIES, SIZES, WHAT WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON ARE

JUST WHAT ARE CALLED THE GROUP 2 AND 3 U.A.V.s, AND

BASICALLY ONE WAY TO THINK ABOUT THEM, THEY WEIGH LESS

THAN 55 POUNDS, AND THEY FLY SLOWER THAN 200 KNOTS,

ACTUALLY, A BETTER NUMBER IS 1 100 MILES PER HOUR, SO

SOMETHING IN THAT AREA. AND THEY DON'T FLY VERY HIGH,

EVEN THOUGH THE CLASSIFICATION OF THESE UP TO 3,500 FEET,

USUALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT APPLICATIONS LESS THAN 500

FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. SO WE'RE GOING TO FOCUS ON

THOSE. AGAIN, IT'S A BIG AREA, SO

WE'RE JUST GOING TO

NARROW DOWN, LOOK AT ONE PARTICULAR

ASPECT OF IT. ALL RIGHT.

SO ONE MORE PIECE OF TERMINOLOGY.

IS THE TERM U.A.V. AND U.A.S. GETS THROWN BACK AND FORTH

INTERCHANGEABLY, AND I WILL DO THAT, TOO.

TO BE CORRECT, THOUGH, WE SHOULD DISTINGUISH BETWEEN

THOSE TWO. THE U.A.V., THE UNMANNED

AERIAL VEHICLE, IS THE AIRCRAFT THAT'S IN THE AIR

THAT'S DOING THE MISSION THAT HAS A PAYLOAD ON IT.

HOWEVER, ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, THERE HAS TO BE A GROUND

STATION. THERE HAS TO BE SOMEONE ON THE

GROUND CONTROLLING IT, COMMANDING IT, TELLING IT TO

DO WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO, AND THAT'S AN INTEGRAL PART OF

THIS. SO THE GROUND STATION, PLUS

THE RADIO DATA LINKS THAT ARE USED TO SEND INFORMATION UP,

PLUS THE AERIAL VEHICLE TOGETHER FORM WHAT'S CALLED A

U.A.S., UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM SYSTEM.

SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT U.A.V.s U.A.V.s, WE SHOULD REALLY BE

TALKING ABOUT THE ENTIRE SYSTEM, SO THE AIRCRAFT, THE

DEALINGS AND THE GROUND OPERATOR.

AND YOU WILL SEE MAYBE IN ABOUT 10, 15 MINUTES WHEN I

START TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU OPERATE THESE AIRCRAFT LEGALLY

LEGALLY, THIS PART OF THE PICTURE BECOMES IMPORTANT, THE

GROUND, THE OPERATOR IS ACTUALLY AN INTEGRAL PART OF

ALL OF THIS. ALL RIGHT.

SO, THE ROAD MAP, I JUST DID SOME BACKGROUND, WHAT I WANT

TO DO NEXT IS TALK ABOUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES

OPPORTUNITIES, WHO'S USING U. U.A.S. AND WHAT APPLICATIONS.

AND WHAT I'M GOING TO DO -- USE THAT FOR IS TO SET THE

GROUNDWORK FOR THE CHALLENGES. AND, AGAIN, IF THERE'S ANYONE

HERE INTERESTED IN U.A.V.s, OR IN THE AUDIENCE, YOU

PROBABLY ARE INTERESTED IN KNOWING WHAT ARE THE ISSUES,

WHAT DO I NEED TO BE AWARE OF BEFORE I USE THEM.

THERE ARE SOME REGULATORY ISSUES, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THOSE

THOSE. AND WE'LL ANCHOR THAT WITH

TECHNICAL CHALLENGES THAT ARE OUT THERE, THAT ARE STILL

BEING WORKED ON THAT ARE NOT ADDRESSED AND I'LL GIVE A

SUMMARY AND OPEN IT UP FOR SOME QUESTIONS.

THAT'S THE ROAD MAP, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO.

ALL RIGHT. SO LET'S TALK ABOUT

OPPORTUNITIES. AND BEFORE I DO THAT, LET ME

SHOW YOU THIS TABLE. SO, FIRST OF ALL, TO BE ABLE

TO OPERATE U.A.V.s LEGALLY IN THE U.S. TODAY, YOU HAVE TO

HAVE PERMISSION FROM THE F.A. F.A.A.

AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE DETAILS OF HOW TO DO THAT.

DON'T DO IT WITHOUT A PERMISSION.

IT'S GOING TO BE COSTLY. STARTING TO BECOME COSTLY

THESE DAYS BECAUSE THEY'RE BEGINNING TO ENFORCE THE RULES

RULES. ANYWAY, SO, THIS TABLE WAS

GENERATED FROM THE LIST OF FOLKS THAT APPLIED FOR PERMITS

TO OPERATE U.A.V.s LAST YEAR YEAR.

AND, SO, BASED ON THAT, WHAT WE SEE IS, AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY,

OR AERIAL SURVEYING SEEMS TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THERE'S A

LOT OF APPLICATION FOR PERMISSION GOING ON.

HOWEVER, THIS IS KIND OF MIS MISLEADING BECAUSE THERE ARE

SOME OTHER APPLICATIONS, LIKE PRECISION AGRICULTURE,

INFRASTRUCTURE INSPECTION, WHICH ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO

BE MORE AND MORE PREVALENT AS TIME GOES ON, BUT, AGAIN,

THERE'S A LOT OF TECHNICAL PROBLEMS THAT HAVE TO BE

SOLVED BEFORE THOSE BECOME TURNKEY SOLUTIONS THAT PEOPLE

CAN USE. SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF

THAT LATER ON. NOW, IF YOU LOOK AT TRAFFIC

AND INFRASTRUCTURE SURVEILLANCE USE CASES THAT

ARE OUT THERE, THEY'RE BEING USED, FOR EXAMPLE, FOR

ACCIDENT SCENE RECONSTRUCTION, WHERE THERE'S AN ACCIDENT, YOU

WANT TO TAKE PICTURES AND GET A NICE MAP OF EXACTLY WHAT

WENT ON FOR MAYBE LAWSUITS LATER ON, SO SOME HIGHWAY

PATROLS HAVE BEEN USING THEM FOR THAT.

EMERGENCY SCENE MANAGEMENT, FIRES, THINGS LIKE THAT,

THERE'S SOME USE ON THAT. POWER LINE INSPECTIONS,

THEY'VE BEEN USED FOR THAT. FLARE STACK INSPECTIONS AND

THE BLUE HERE IS A LINK, I GUESS WE'LL MAKE THE

PRESENTATION AVAILABLE AFTER THIS, SO IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN

GO AHEAD AND CLICK ON THAT, IT SENDS YOU TO A VERY NICE WEB

PAGE PUT TOGETHER BY A CONSORTIUM OF SMALL U.A.V.

FOLKS THAT WANT TO USE SMALL U.A.V.s AND THERE ARE A LOT

OF NICE VIDEOS OF SMALL U.A.S. U.A.S.s BEING USED FOR

INSPECTION PURPOSES, DAM INSPECTIONS, BRIDGE INSPECTION

INSPECTIONS, RAILWAY INSPECTIONS.

AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THESE TWO NEXT.

EVEN THOUGH YOU DON'T CONSIDER THIS INFRASTRUCTURE, ANOTHER

PLACE WHERE THERE'S A BIG CALL FOR U.A.S. IS IN AGRICULTURE.

BUT, AGAIN, THAT'S A DIFFERENT TOPIC, SOMETHING WE'RE WORKING

ON QUITE A BIT HERE. BUT I WON'T TALK ABOUT THAT

TODAY. UNLESS FOLKS WANT TO ASK

QUESTIONS LATER ON, I COULD TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT.

SO, TWO CASES THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT WHERE U.A.V.s,

DRONES, U.A.S.s ARE BEING USED, ONE, INFRASTRUCTURE

INSPECTION WHERE THIS PHOTOGRAPH AND THE DETAILS

ASSOCIATED WITH THIS, I JUST TOOK FROM CROSSROADS, WHICH IS

A BLOG OR A NEWSLETTER, IF YOU WILL, BY MnDOT, AND THERE'S

AN ARTICLE THERE, AND I ACTUALLY SUGGEST IF YOU'RE

INTERESTED, GO AHEAD AND TAKE A LOOK AT IT.

IT'S A REALLY NICE WRITEUP ABOUT THE PLANS TO USE U.A.S.

FOR INSPECTING BRIDGES. IN THIS CASE YOU SEE A SMALL

QUAD COPTER TRYING TO DO INSPECTIONS OF A TRAIN TRESTLE

OR BRIDGE, AND ONE APPLICATION IS EXACTLY THIS, THE U.A.V.

BECOMES A PLATFORM FOR CARRYING A PAYLOAD, IT COULD

BE A CAMERA OF SOME SORT, AND THAT CAMERA COULD BE USED TO

INSPECT CLOSELY WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT STRUCTURE.

NOW, AS YOU CAN SEE, IT'S A METAL STRUCTURE, YOU HAVE THE

U.A.V. VERY CLOSE TO IT. AS I'LL TALK ABOUT IN A LITTLE

BIT, ONE OF THE KEY SENSORS ON MOST OF THE U.A.S. IS G.P.S.,

THIS IS ACTUALLY A VERY BAD ENVIRONMENT FOR HAVING G.P.S.

IT'S A MULTIPATH HEAVEN, REFLECTION OF SIGNALS ARE

GOING TO BE COMING OFF THE STRUCTURE, SO THAT COULD

AFFECT SOME OF THE PERFORMANCE PERFORMANCE.

BUT THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES

THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED OR LOOKED AT WHEN LOOKING AT

USING U.A.S. FOR THESE KINDS OF APPLICATIONS.

THIS IS ONE. I GUESS THERE'S A COMPELLING

ECONOMIC CASE TO BE MADE FOR IT.

I WALK TO WORK EVERY DAY. I 0 WALK OVER THE FRANKLIN

STREET BRIDGE THESE DAYS, THEY'RE DOING SOME INSPECTION

REPAIR OF IT, THE AMOUNT OF INFRASTRUCTURE SET UP THERE

FOR DOING THAT TYPE OF WORK IS QUITE EXTENSEIVE AND THIS MIGHT

SIMPLIFY THAT. THE NEXT ONE, WHICH I'LL TALK

A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, AND IT'S REALLY INTERESTING ONE,