STARKVILLE – Missions for first responders can range anywhere from search and rescue to aiding during natural disasters.
These dangerous and difficult situations often put first responders in the middle of the action to help where they’re needed.
What if first responders could get a leg up by using drones to assess the situation from a safer distance?
Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Laboratory’s recent research efforts testing the Aurora Flight Sciences SKIRON-X, an unmanned aircraft system, is seeking to answer that question. Developed by Aurora Flight Sciences, the SKIRON-X drone design and on board system allows for vertical takeoffs and extended flight time, which provides improved surveillance capabilities for first responders.
“The value of the system is an ability to, specifically when we’re talking about law enforcement, emergency response and those types of efforts, … get in and collect more situational awareness information to be able to achieve a mission,” Raspet Director Bryan Farrell told The Dispatch. “… What you often hear about (unmanned aircraft systems) usage is it does the dull, dangerous and dirty (work), and so it’s a tool that can achieve those missions more safely and reliably than otherwise.”
Current Federal Aviation Administration regulations only allow UAS to fly as far as the operator can see to avoid collisions with other aircraft in the area. Flying beyond that visual line of sight requires aircraft and operators to meet higher safety thresholds, Farrell said, as well as a waiver from the FAA.
SKIRON-X aims to change that by using research flights and operations testings to develop a guide, or a safety case, to provide a guide for waiver applications to the FAA for operating beyond the visual line of sight, Farrell said.
The intentionality in developing this safety case is to provide agencies like Starkville Police Department and other first responders a roadmap for applying to use the SKIRON-X or other similar unmanned aircraft systems, Farrell said.
Raspet research engineer Brady Swann said the safety case was presented to the FAA to allow for future implementation for this program and other similar uses for first responders and their agencies.
“The intention was to kind of have that process developed to where anyone could reach out and say, ‘Hey, we’re interested in leveraging these tools, but we’re not sure how to … navigate the FAA’s portal and everything,’ and so that was the whole design of this project,” Swann said.
Raspet is looking to implement the program with Starkville Police Department next year, Swann said.
“This technology gives us the ability to better manage large crime scenes, observe crowds and strengthen our overall approach to public safety,” Starkville Police Chief Mark Ballard said in a text to The Dispatch. “This is effective technology, and it represents the natural evolution of how we improve our capabilities and expand our reach in keeping the public safe.”
The plan going forward, Swann said, is to offer the safety case that’s been developed to other local agencies in the area that are interested in integrating the SKIRON-X or similar unmanned aircraft systems into day to day operations.
“Our project is demonstrating this capability as a proposed option,” Swann said. “But at the end of the day, if another agency wants to use a different manufacturer or brand … it would get the same job done.”
Drone capabilities
Raspet picked up the project, which began in May, because of the laboratory’s previous experience in developing similar projects with unmanned aircraft, Farrell said.
The crew of researchers have been testing the program’s aircraft at their facilities and keeping flight logs to give feedback to Aurora Flight Sciences researchers for future developments and potential adjustments to improve the program, Swann said.
Farrell said the aircraft, while largely automated, also has the ability for manual usage and uses a propeller, fixed wings and spinning motors to increase flight time capability to three to six hours from what was at most an hour on drones with just motors.
“It uses the four vertical motors to lift off, and then there’s an algorithm that transitions and turns off the four vertical motors and turns on the one pusher prop,” Swann said. “And then it transitions into that forward flight … and so you’re only having one motor spin for the main duration of your mission.”
It also gives drones the ability to vertically take off which makes them easier to deploy than other aircraft, Farrell said.
“The operational footprint where you can fly, the amount of time you’re in the air, it changes the scope of the mission,” Farrell said. “So I don’t know that it does away with the need for a smaller UAS that can fit in the back of a patrol car or be more remote, but it’s more of a centralized tool for purposes that meet that long endurance.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
