Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

Applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for civilian purposes are highly desirable in the fields of natural resource surveying, security surveillance and others. Although many UAS are under development, there are significant barriers to their use such as cost-effectiveness and safety. Consequently, the UAS must be autonomous to avoid stationary and moving obstacles, to fly along the predetermined paths to survey the required target area, and to contain on-board health monitoring. Only partial system solutions are currently available. This proposal stems from the development of the UAS ""GeoSurv II"" for geophysical airborne surveys at Carleton Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (M&AE) in partnership with Sander Geophysics Ltd (SGL) of Ottawa. The design started as a M&AE undergraduate 4th-year project in the academic year 2004-2005. In order to meet the challenging system requirements, graduate research was initiated in four key areas, namely Autonomous Operation (AO), Obstacle Detection (OD), Magnetic Signature Control (MSC), and Low-Cost Composite Structures (LCC). The progress made since 2006 indicates that practical solutions are achievable. The newer fifth project will address the special aspects of gathering geophysical data by UAS. This research named Geomagnetic Data Acquisition (GDA) is a collaboration with the Department of Earth Sciences at Carleton. Results of the proposed research will provide significant contributions to Canada. They will enable cost-effective natural resource surveys of our landmass, especially in the North, thereby helping in efficient and environmentally responsible geological exploration. The developed technologies will be suitable not only for other UAS missions but also for other aerospace and non-aerospace systems. The proposed research will make significant contributions to the training of highly qualified personnel.