Knowledge Workshop and Round Table on Civilian Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems

141 Pages·2015·23.44 MB·English

Report of
Knowledge Workshop and Round Table on Civilian
Applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems
March 7, 2015

Submitted by
International Institute for Aerospace Engineering and Management
in cooperation with
National Institute of Institution of Engineers GITAM University
Advanced Studies (India) - Karnataka State
Centre
to
Karnataka Jnana Aayoga
Bangalore
Preface
UnmannedAerialSystems(UAS)havebeendemonstratedsuccessfullyindiversecivilianapplications
the world over. Some of these applications are agriculture; monitoring of forests and the environ-
ment; tra(cid:30)c and crowd monitoring etc. They also hold immense potential in their integration with
Geographical Information Systems as they can be used to collect data (cid:16)at-will(cid:17) at the local level, for
instance, by a village panchayat to monitor land use in its jurisdiction. Thus, this tool can lead to
better governance and decision-making, which in turn leads to overall societal bene(cid:28)ts. To enable
India, and in particular, Karnataka, to take a lead in the implementation of this technology, with
the support of Karnataka Jnana Aayoga, Government of Karnataka, the International Institute for
Aerospace Engineering and Management (IIAEM) at Jain University, organized a 1-day workshop,
entitled (cid:16)Knowledge Workshop and Round Table on Civilian Applications of Unmanned Aerial Sys-
tems(cid:17). Thisworkshopwasacollaborativee(cid:27)ortwithInstitutionofEngineers(India)(cid:21)KarnatakaState
Centre, National Institute of Advanced Studies, and GITAM University.
IIAEM was started as a collaborative venture between Jain University and the Society of Indian
Aerospace Technologies & Industries to generate human resources of excellence in aerospace engi-
neering and management. Jain University is renowned as a leader in learning, teaching, and research
(ranked 21st among India’s top universities as per India Today Best University Survey 2014). IIAEM
has received overwhelming support from academic institutions, R&D laboratories, and industrial or-
ganizations, such as ISRO, HAL, AAI, and many others. Besides involving itself in research, the
institute o(cid:27)ers courses in Aerospace Engineering at the undergraduate level and specialized courses
in Aerospace Structures, Propulsion, Avionics, and Aviation Management at the postgraduate and
research levels. Thus, it was decided that IIAEM would be an ideal place for the conduct of the
Knowledge Workshop on UAS.
In this workshop, several eminent experts and users, drawn from academia, industry, and gov-
ernment, were invited to assess technology, applications, and policy aspects of UAS. The workshop
was organized to have technical sessions as well as a high-level panel discussion on this topic. This
document is a report of the Knowledge Workshop and contains a summary of the presentations as
well as the panel discussion. The key messages from these sessions are also tabulated. Based on
these discussions, a list of recommendations is also presented. Selected photographs from a special
session on technical demonstrations of UAS, which was a part of the workshop, are also included.
i
Acknowledgments
I would like to acknowledge and extend my gratitude to the following people, who contributed to
ensure that the workshop was a success.
Name Institution
Mr Shyam Chetty Director, CSIR-NAL
Dr Ramesh Gopalan Head, Micro Air Vehicle Unit, CSIR-NAL
Dr B N Suresh President, INAE
Prof R N Vasagam Chairman, IEI-KSC
Dr K Ramachandra
National Design and Research Forum
Lt Gen (Dr) V T Sundaram
John Livingstone Johnnette Technologies Pvt Ltd
Dr P K Srivastava Retd Eminent Scientist, ISRO
Mr S B Honnur Director, Department of Town Planning, GoK
Mr K V Rudresh Deputy Director, Dept of SSLR, GoK
Dr Baldev Raj Director, NIAS
Maj Gen (Dr) R Sivakumar Pro-VC, GITAM University
Dr M V Ramaprasad Professor, GITAM University
Mr Linson Sunny GITAM University
Principal Secretary, Dept of Higher Education,
Mr Bharat Lal Meena
GoK
Dr R K Srivastava CCF, Department of Forests, GoK
Mr K Thulasiraman Assistant Director, DGCA
Dr D K Prabhuraj Director, KSRSAC
Dr G S Srinivasa Reddy Director, KSNMDC
Dr Mukund Rao Member Secretary, KJA
Ms M Jayashri
Dr B S Padmavathi KJA
Mr K S Ashok Kumar
Dr N Sundararajan Vice-Chancellor, Jain University
Dr Krishna Venkatesh Dean, Jain University; Drone Aerospace
Dr N G R Iyengar Pro-VC, Jain University
Prof K R Sridhara Murthi Director, IIAEM
Prof B Dattaguru Professor, IIAEM
Dr Sachit Rao
Assistant Professor, IIAEM
Mr V Amrithraju
Continued on next page
ii
Continued from previous page
Name Institution
Mr Ashish Kumar Gupta
Mr Sulakshan Arya Assistant Professor, IIAEM
Mr C Y Allamaprabhu
Mr M S Parswanath Director, Projects and Facilities, Jain Group
Sta(cid:27) of Facilities at Jain Global Campus
Faculty, Sta(cid:27), and Students of IIAEM and SET, JU
Major R Sonawane
Representatives of Edall Systems
V Parameswaran
Head of Department and Professor,
IIAEM, Jain University
iii
For more information, contact:
Head of Department
International Institute for Aerospace Engineering and Management, Jain University,
Jain Global Campus, NH-209, Jakkasandra Post,
Kanakapura Taluk, Ramanagara District, Karnataka 562 112
Phone: [phone] / 232
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://iiaem.jainuniversity.ac.in/index.html
iv
Contents
Preface i
Acknowledgments ii
Table of Contents v
1 Introduction 1
2 Relevance of the Workshop 2
3 Objectives of the Workshop 3
4 Details of the Workshop 4
4.1 Inaugural Session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4.2 Technical Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2.1 Technological Aspects of UAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2.2 Applications and Policy Needs of UAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2.3 Key Highlights of Experts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.3 UAS Technology Demonstrations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4 Panel Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.4.1 List of Participants and Topics of Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.4.2 Summary of the discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4.4.3 Audience Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5 Recommendations 23
Appendix A Workshop Program 26
Appendix B List of Participants 28
Appendix C Speakers’ Presentations 31
C.1 Dr K Ramachandra(cid:21)Concepts, Prototypes, and Mission Mode Operations: UAS . . . 31
C.2 Lt Gen (Dr) V J Sundaram(cid:21)MAV Sensors and Measuring Systems . . . . . . . . . . 58
C.3 Dr Ramesh Gopalan(cid:21)Emerging Applications of Small UAVs and Associated Challenges 76
C.4 Lt Cdr (Retd) John Livingstone(cid:21)E(cid:27)ect of NO Regulations on Civil UAS Applications 99
C.5 Dr Krishna Venkatesh(cid:21)UAS Ecosystem and Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
C.6 Maj Gen (Dr) R Sivakumar(cid:21)Role of Academic, Research, and Learned Societies in
UAS Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
C.7 Dr Mukund Rao(cid:21)Emerging Applications and Potentials for UAS Technologies . . . . 123
C.8 Dr R K Srivastava(cid:21)Case Study of UAS usage in Forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
C.9 Mr K Thulasiraman(cid:21)Current Status of DGCA on Civil Use of UAS . . . . . . . . . . 131
v
1 Introduction
One of the important knowledge areas that Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (KJA) has considered is the
assessmentofUnmannedAerialSystems(UAS)intermsoftheirtechnology,applications,andpolicies.
UAShavebecomeeasytoprocure/buildandtheyhavefoundtobeusefulinavarietyofapplications,
suchasmapping,GeographicalInformationSystems(GIS),changedetectionandmonitoringetc. Use
of UAS for data collection holds tremendous value for diverse and numerous governance and citizen
applications. However, India is yet to be well-prepared for the adoption of this important technology,
especially in its educational and knowledge components, for example, there are several gaps in the
indigenousdesignandmanufactureofsuchsystems;itisstillto(cid:28)ndaplaceinengineeringeducation,
considering that it requires expertise in mechanical, aerospace, electronics and other engineering
disciplines. KJA envisages that Karnataka could take a lead in this knowledge area by promoting
the embedding of UAS technology in engineering education, encouraging industrial production, and
enabling LARGE-SCALE usage in governance and civilian applications, such as agriculture, civic
operations, policing, forests, urban development, mapping, Karnataka-GIS etc.
KJA considered that an initial discus-
sion/workshopcouldbeorganisedwhereexperts
can be invited for engaging in a scoping discus-
Scope of the Workshop
siononpossiblefuturestudiesonUAVtech,apps
and policies, so that, a holistic plan for UAS in
• Presentations on technology of UAS
governance applications, education, commercial
• Civilian applications such as agriculture,
production, and societal bene(cid:28)ts could emerge.
forest and disaster monitoring, civic op-
This concept of a 1-day workshop was erations etc.
also discussed amongst Institution of Engineers
• Potential for integration with K-GIS to
(India)(cid:21)Karnataka State Centre (IEI-KSC), Na-
aid in governance and development
tionalInstituteofAdvancedStudies(NIAS),GI-
• Deliberations on policy to encourage in-
TAM University, and Jain University. It was
novation and use by non-governmental
noted that Jain University, along with Rotary
organisations
Club was to organize the 2nd National Seminar
• Potential for academic institutions to
on UAV Technologies and Airshow on March 6,
take up UAS for education and research
2015inJainGlobalCampus. Usingthisopportu-
nity, Jain University organised the 1-day knowl-
edge workshop on Civilian Applications of UAS
asajointeventonMarch7,2015. TheworkshopwasorganizedbyInternationalInstituteofAerospace
EngineeringandManagement(IIAEM),JainUniversity in collaboration withNIAS,IEI-KSC,andGI-
TAM University.
The workshop was organized to have 2 sessions of talks(cid:21)one on the Technological Aspects of
UAS and the second on the Applications and Policy Needs. The workshop concluded with a
discussion by a panel of noted and experienced experts and users who shared their experiences in
the general issues faced in the development and usage of technology and how these lessons can be
Page 1 of 135
imparted to the implementation of UAS technologies.
2 Relevance of the Workshop
An initial thought paper on UAS had been written by NIAS, Jain University, and GITAM University
in 2014∗. This paper was used to prepare the background and relevance for the workshop. The key
aspects identi(cid:28)ed and which were important to be addressed in the workshop include
1. Policyandacceptanceissues: UASareclassi(cid:28)edas(cid:29)yingobjects andarebundledunderaviation
policies/rules. This has to change and will indeed change with the proliferation and easy
availability and large demand of UAS technology. This implies that UAS have to be integrated
into a larger National Airspace system(cid:21)thus there is a need for developing regulations, policy,
procedures, guidance material, and training/awareness creation.
2. Standardisation: This process will be extremely essential to set the technological standards,
data parameters standards, operation standards etc. for UAS operations and usage in civilian
domain. Likeinmanyothernations,havingatest-siteforUAVwillalsobeagooddevelopment.
3. Need for variety of sensors: The use of these devices would enhance the applicability of UAS.
Examplesofthesesensorsarecamerasforimagesandvideo,LIDAR-basedsystems,geophysical
instruments, air-pollution instruments etc. along-with systematic navigation and positioning
systems AND real-time data analytic software and tools.
4. Back-end data: The successful implementation of UAS requires back-end GIS maps and data.
Although such data can be obtained quite easily, the challenge lies in obtaining them to a
desired precision, for example, in terms of a location and its geo-code address etc.
5. Industry and Research: It is crucial to position a viable mechanism that involves industry
and research institutions as this is the only way that technology, that will largely bene(cid:28)t the
country, can be developed and simultaneously create the next generation of technology experts
in universities.
6. Education: Embedding the study of UAS technology in the education sector is bene(cid:28)cial as it
provides a classic medium of a systemic education model for multi-disciplinary technologies,
which involves knowledge of mechanical, avionics, control and navigation, communication,
sensory technologies etc. In addition, as it is a complex aerospace system, it is easily amenable
to laboratory-based research and innovation.
7. Legal Regime: There is a strong need for well-de(cid:28)ned legal regimes which embed safety and
security, privacy and data protection, liability/insurance and other aspects.
∗Perspective on UAS Technology, Applications and Policies for India, Mukund Rao et. al., ASPRS UAS
Symposium,October21-22,2014,Reno,Nevada,USA
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In addition, UAS also has relevance for the state of Karnataka, as it has envisioned implementing
Karnataka-GIS (K-GIS). The backbone of K-GIS is the availability of real-time and latest data, for
example, in the form of images, across the state. Currently, such data is being acquired using
satellite-based Earth Observation (EO), aerial survey methods, and other methods such as surveys.
These methods, which have proved to be very bene(cid:28)cial, also pose several drawbacks. For example,
EO images are limited by resolution, coverage gaps, and timely availability. Keeping in mind these
drawbacks, the features o(cid:27)ered by UAS technology(cid:21)at the heart of which, is the Unmanned Aerial
Vehicle(UAV)(cid:21)seemextremelypromising. Thisisbecausethesesystemscanbeeasilyoperated; they
arerelativelyinexpensive;andmostimportantly,theycanbeusedtocollectdataat-will orwhenthey
aremostessential. Itistheseideasandthoughtsthatformthebackgroundforaseriousconsideration
of UAS technology to improve governance and aid in decision making.
Theaboveconceptsbecamethecoretopicsfortheworkshopandaccordingly, theprogramofthe
discussions was worked out.
3 Objectives of the Workshop
The main aim is to consider the potentials of UAS for development and governance and
enablefutureactionsbyKJAforholisticassessmentofUAStechnology, applications, andpolicy.
The workshop will consist of expert talks and a panel discussion, bringing together government,
industry, and academia.
Given the background for the conduct of the workshop, the objectives were de(cid:28)ned as:
a. Review the technological aspects of UAS(cid:21)various categories of UAVs that are available such as
(cid:28)xedandrotary-wing,sensors,toolsavailablefornavigationandcontrol,softwarerequirements
etc.
b. Review the application potentials of UAS for civilian society(cid:21)GIS ingest, urban, civic control,
mines, agriculture, news & media, disasters, forests etc.
c. DiscusspolicyperspectivesofUAS(cid:21)bothas(cid:16)(cid:29)yingsystems(cid:17) andwhichcanreceiveandtransmit
data.
d. Address education, research and industrial aspects of UAS technologies.
Based on these objectives, it was decided to invite key experts who can talk on these issues and
identifytechnologicalandpolicygapsthatshouldbeaddressed. Theresultingdiscussionswouldthen
be documented and used as a foundation for a KJA-funded study and the formation of a team that
would look into these aspects in much greater detail.
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4 Details of the Workshop
The program for the workshop can be found in Appendix A and the complete list of participants is
presented in Appendix B. The workshop saw a large representation of diverse stakeholders. A note-
worthy participant in the workshop, who also spoke in the session on Application and Policy Needs,
was a representative of the Director General of Civil Aviation(cid:21)the Government of India (GoI) body
responsible for the formulation of rules and regulations for the use of UAS in the civilian airspace.
The rich and varied deliberations in the workshop indicated the usefulness of this technology, the
encouragement that is potentially available for its widespread use, and the serious attention that is
being given by governmental and non-governmental agencies, and the potential role of UAS as an
important tool that would lead to overall societal bene(cid:28)ts.
Another important element of the workshop was the live technological demonstrations of various
UAS.
4.1 Inaugural Session
The session was inaugurated by the Vice-Chancellor of Jain University, Dr N Sundararajan, who
spoke brie(cid:29)y about the University and the numerous and multi-disciplinary research activities being
undertaken in several disciplines, which have reached a high level of maturity in the short span in
which they were initiated. He also expressed happiness that the University was given the opportunity
by KJA to organize the workshop and host several eminent personalities connected with UAS. He
emphasised that UAS technologies are the need-of-the-hour for India and that this workshop, which
wassynchronisedtobeheldwiththe2ndNationalSeminaronUAVs, wouldbene(cid:28)tthestudentsand
faculty of Jain University immensely.
Dr Mukund Rao, Member-Secretary of KJA, described the motivations for the conduct of the
workshopandinitiativestakenbyKJAwhichhavemadethestateofKarnatakaaleaderintheuseof
technology for better governance and informed decision-making. He mentioned that KJA is primarily
isabody,composedofmemberswhoareprofessionalsindiverseareas,whofocusongeneratingideas
that can bene(cid:28)t Karnataka. He also described the potential of UAS being a (cid:16)disruptive(cid:17) technology
thatcanchangetraditionalmodesofthinkinginseveralareas, giventheireaseofoperationandtheir
diverse uses.
AkeytalkwasgivenbyPadmashri ProfRMVasagam,ChairmanofIEI-KSC,whonarratedafew
of his experiences in indigenous and innovative technological developments and assured the audience
that India is equipped with adequate resources to meet any technological challenge. He was hopeful
that UAS would act as an e(cid:27)ective early-warning system for civilian scenarios. He expressed that
industry-academia interaction can lead to quantum jump in technological developments and gave
examples, from across the world, where this mechanism has yielded excellent results.
An important address in the inaugural session was made via video-conference by Mr Bharat Lal
Meena,PrincipalSecretaryoftheDepartmentofHigherEducation,GovernmentofKarnataka(GoK),
who expressed con(cid:28)dence in the use of technology toward the greater good. He identi(cid:28)ed important
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