More Eyes in the Sky

While a solo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is starting to become a common sight over war zones and, to a lesser extent, over civilian communities, researchers in Germany are taking on the next great challenge: UAVs that fly in pack formations. A UAV under development at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems (IMS), in Duisburg, Germany, can fly in groups.

Each vehicle synchronizes its flight path with every other vehicle and dodges any other objects in its vicinity. They all avoid collision by virtue of CMOS sensors, which accurately measure distance in three dimensions and thereby enable the robots to identify other objects—including other flying robots—and the objects’ locations in exact relation to their own.

A Fraunhofer IMS spinoff company called TriDiCam built the 3-D distance sensors and installed them into cameras that fit onto the drones. The engineers will present their camera 3-D sensor innovation at the Fraunhofer CMOS Imaging Workshop, which takes place June 12-13 at Fraunhofer IMS.

There are many uses that such visually enhanced drones could serve, and a Fraunhofer press release rattles off a few of them. Law enforcement takes front and center. The press release opens with a scenario of a sports stadium in the grip of a violent riot. While police and ambulatory crews scramble to restore order, the drones take to the air to be their overhead eyes.

The 3-D camera in the flying robot can identify small objects measuring 20 by 15 centimeters from seven meters away. © Fraunhofer IMS

“Only the swarm of flying drones can maintain an overview of the situation,” the press release states. “Their cameras and sensors capture urgently-needed images and data, and transmit them to the control center. Where are the most seriously injured people? What’s the best way to separate the rival gangs? The information provided by the drones allows the head of operations to make important decisions more quickly.”

Disaster relief workers would also count on these drones to help them trace through wreckage and find survivors, according to the press release. So would urban planners, who could use them to create multidimensional models of streets or to evaluate roofs for their suitability for solar installations.

That Fraunhofer might foresee drones assisting solar-panel installation isn’t too surprising, given Germany’s massive commitment to build up its solar energy infrastructure over the next two decades. But drones are in fact a hot commodity in general, not only in Germany, but throughout Europe, and throughout Asia, as well.

The market research company Frost and Sullivan forecasts much growth ahead in local development of UAVs across both continents. In a recent report, the company describes intensely competitive pursuit by European companies of newer and better UAV equipment and systems. The report coincides with the successful flight test in Spain of an unmanned helicopter by designer Indra.

"This is the opportune time for UAV manufacturers and suppliers to explore opportunities in these emerging markets,” the report states.

The Fraunhofer press release’s strong emphasis on law enforcement may be a clue as to why. Europe has had many public riots on its hands in the last few years—Greece, France, and Great Britain being host to some notorious examples. Law and order, and the preservation thereof, are surely on a lot of European officials’ minds.

Note that Fraunhofer cites natural disaster support as a UAV use, as well. This might lie behind some of Asia’s increasing interest in UAVs. After all, Asia has seen more than its share of natural disasters in recent history—Indonesia’s earthquake this year, Japan’s earthquake and tsunami double-whammy last year, more tsunamis in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia in 2004, for a few examples.

Looking ahead, UAVs will unfortunately have their work cut out for them. The prospect of more trouble ahead is a more-than-reasonable expectation on both continents. The massive unemployment and draconian government budget cuts that incited Europe’s latest rounds of rioting aren’t going away any time soon, and neither is the massive immigration that is proving to be a societal powder keg in so many of the continent’s democracies.

Asia, meanwhile, will need to be on guard for more harsh natural-born turbulence. Tsunamis, cyclones, flash floods, and other weather-related disasters are all growing more intense and, in some parts, more numerous, thanks to global climate change patterns.

Of course, comprehensive community safety requires more than new gizmos, no matter where you live. The deeper problems of economic regression, ecological damage, and disaster preparedness take lots of old-fashioned human initiative to solve definitively. But we humans could use all the help we can get, and if drones can lend a hand (or a 3-D sensor), then very well.