Examining Human Factor Issues with UAV Configurations

 

            Two scenarios were chosen to examine human factor issues, so two different UAVs were assembled for this exercise. The first UAV was designed to assist in a farm support scenario. The Gadfly quadrotor was chosen for aerial video uses. The quadrotor was also used because the task would take no more than 30-minutes. The mission was to fly across farmed terrain to measure the density of green vegetation. The cameras remained in Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) mode. The video footage would help identify the farmer’s vegetation index. The quadrotor was used with a portable computer because it would remain within the operator’s line of sight. Automated flight plan was used, so the operator’s hands were free to snap and log photos. The UAV was flown at 9 miles per second at an altitude of 50 miles. Two human factor issues came up during this project. One issue was the altitude setting was not high enough, so the UAV either hit foliage or vegetation density videos were unclear. The second issue was the battery signal with ground control was lost. This occurred with either the portable computer or the trailer. Even when the antenna configurations were swapped between single or dipole on the UAV and large dipole or large dish on the trailer, the signal difference turned red at a particular distance away from the controller. This author determined the quadrotor could only be used to survey the farmer’s entire land mass one section at a time or with a moving control station. Moving while taking photos would initiate other human factors issues. The wind conditions were perfect for the flight. However, another human factor with the quadrotor could’ve been the excessive winds affecting stress on the craft’s ability to remain stabilized.

            The second UAV was designed to assist in finding a missing hiker. A fixed wing drone was chosen for it’s extended flight-hour and long distance operation capabilities (figure 3). The Fluke Infrared (FLIR) camera was chosen for its thermal imaging capabilities. The electric motor was considered in lieu of the gas motor with regard to weight. The gas motor was 855 grams heavier than the electric motor, before fuel was added. However, the gas-powered drone could fly up to 16 hours (Circuits Today, 2020). So, the 2-stroke gas powered engine was used. The 100-watt versus the 80-watt generator was installed because the spec differences practically mirrored each other. This author came across three issues while creating the flight plan. One problem was trying to not exceed the craft’s turn radius. Many warning drop downs and red plot points appeared. The second was the same communication problem as the first scenario (figure 4). Then this author read some of the previously posted discussions and saw talk of ground repeaters. Ground repeaters will be further researched. The third was the speed. The craft wouldn’t stay in the air at low speeds, so it crashed a few times. That’s when it was presumed that a fixed wing craft was not good for aerial photography. Speeds necessary to keep the craft in the air would possibly shake too much to get a good image.

 

Reference

Circuits Today. (2020). Types of Drones – Explore the Different Models of UAV’s. Retrieved from https://www.circuitstoday.com/types-of-drones#:~:text=Types%20of%20Drones%20%E2%80%93%20Explore%20the%20Different%20Models,3%20Single%20Rotor%20Dones.%204%20Hybrid%20VTOL.