Field Swappable Powered Tethering System for Off-The-Shelf Unmanned Aircraft and Associated Flight Applications
(Room Innovation Hub-- Booth 2727)
05 May 16
10:00 AM
-
4:00 PM
Tracks:
Academic, Air, Commercial, Defense, Research and Development
The development of the powered tether is presented, highlighting the particular challenges associated with integrating tethers into commercial multirotor aircrafts. For many potential multi-rotar applications ranging from engineering structural inspections, to monitoring wild fires, and filmmaking, the current battery limitations of 20-30 minutes of flight time limits viable implementation. A large portion of applications utilize limited flight area but would benefit significantly from extended flight time. Researchers at the University of Missouri-Kansas City were tasked with developing a multi-rotar system with the ability for inspection of structurally deficient bridges where conventional inspection techniques were either impossible or too costly. After assessing the available commercial components and systems, limited flight time was clearly the biggest obstacle with inspection of a relatively small bridge requiring 6+ hours of flight time. The development of a powered tether was the most logical step towards UAV inspections. Tethered UAV applications represent a significant reduction safety concerns by physically limiting both horizontal and vertical range. Although tethered systems are currently viewed in a similar light by the FAA for commercial use, the inability of tethered systems to impinge on programmed flight space and the reduction in security/privacy concerns means regulations on these specific systems are most likely to be relaxed before their unleashed counterparts. Supplying power from a ground-based system can effectively eliminate flight duration concerns while simultaneously constraining the aircraft to a physical tether thereby increasing operation safety. A tethered system enables virtually unlimited flight time, creating an ideal platform for long flight operations. Currently, there are a few off-the-shelf tethered multirotor aircraft systems marketed. However, these systems are expensive and require the operators to use the particular hardware/software interface of the manufacturer. The system discussed in this presentation integrates with both an off-the-shelf quadcopter unmanned aircraft (DJI Inspire) and an tandem eight motor unit assembled from readily-available components, demonstrating the ability of enabling operators to work with the best particular system for the desired application. The systems presented can be easily integrated into many current battery-powered multirotor aircrafts with tether lengths exceeding 300 ft. The onboard system can weigh less than the original battery (tether length dependent), enabling larger payload capacities. Additionally, a patent-protected backup battery can be installed to protect against powered tether interruption. The powered tether system has been developed for output capabilities ranging from 1000 – 4000W, covering many common commercial multirotor vehicles. The flexibility in hardware applications has the potential to allow customization to units needed for specific jobs, such as bridge inspection. The presentation will conclude with a discussion of actual logistics when the systems preformed bridge inspection. The final component of the presentation will include observations of locations and situations where tethered systems will be most beneficial and appropriate and also the challenges the team has encountered to help with the both the technical development of additional systems to compete and transform the marketplace and also to provide first-hand experience to aid motivation to relax current controls.