CPC Podcast: Reimagining the Future of Aviation and Airports
The next chapter in the story of flight will look very different to the story that unfolded over the last century. And this has huge implications for how we think about places such as airports, new modes of flight like electric vehicle take-off and landing or air taxis, electric and hydrogen powered planes, and what sustainable flight looks like as we transition to net zero.
In this episode, Connect Places Catapult turns their attention to the future aviation; to the airports, airlines and aeronautical technologies that have been taking us to the skies, and connected us to the wider world, and to each other, for over a century. What is the next century going to look like?
Airbus Zephyr just misses record for world’s longest flight
The high-altitude drone Zephyr came down in Arizona, USA, just hours before it would have broken all records for the longest-ever continuous flight (manned or unmanned). It had already previously beaten the 2018 record for unmanned flight.
The flight started mid-June and had lasted 64 days, losing contact with ground control on August 19th. It came within hours of breaking the record for the longest flight in history. Airbus had flown the Zephyr on several long-distance missions, many of them of more than two weeks duration.Thanks to help from ADSB Exchange, Simple Flying has been able to track the final movements of the Zephyr. Flying under callsign ZULU82, it had spent most of the past two months in the southwestern parts of the United States, cruising around at altitudes of some 60 – 70,000 feet.
“Following 64 days of stratospheric flight and the completion of numerous mission objectives, Zephyr experienced circumstances that ended its current flight. No personal injury occurred. Our teams are currently analyzing more than 1500 hours of stratospheric mission data. The valuable experience from this prototype’s ultra-long endurance flight has proved to be a positive step toward the Army’s high-altitude platform goals.” Airbus Representative
Thanks to help from ADSB Exchange, it has been possible to track the movements of the Zephyr. Flying under callsign ZULU82, it had spent most of the past two months in the southwestern parts of the United States, cruising around at altitudes of 60 – 70,000 feet.
The Zephyr drone is able to fly for such long continues periods thanks to its use of solar power. The solar panels absorb sunlight during the day, providing sufficient energy to power it 24/7. Due to flying in the stratosphere, the aircraft remains above the majority of terrestrial weather, meaning it receives maximum solar power.
The Zephyr drone is unique not only because of the high altitudes at which it can fly, but also because of how long it can continuously remain airborne. Its capability for such long flights is thanks to its use of solar power. The solar panels on its backside continuously absorb sunlight during the day, providing sufficient energy to power its propellors during the day and also at night. Flying high in the stratosphere, the aircraft remains above the majority of terrestrial weather. This allows it to receive uninterrupted radiation from the sun for as long as possible. Despite being over 82 feet long, the ultra-light craft comes in at only 166 pounds.
Diversifying Drone Stories Research Project: Seeking Industry View
The ‘diversifying drone stories’ research project is interested in hearing from ARPAS-UK members. Led by Dr Anna Jackman (University of Reading), the ‘Diversifying drone stories’ research project explores the use, perception, and impact of drones in changing UK airspace.
Drones are used in a growing range of applications – from emergency services, inspection and monitoring, to commercial deliveries. While associated with a range of benefits, drones are also associated with risks, from accidents to deliberate misuse.
Drones therefore raise questions about how airspace is managed, occupied, experienced, and regulated. Funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), this project engages with diverse stakeholders (including emergency services, lawyers, industry, pilots, air traffic management, members of the public) who variously deploy, design, manage and live under drones, to understand different perspectives on how drones are (re)shaping UK airspace and everyday lives below.
As members of the drone industry, the project is interested in hearing about your experiences and views. The researcher invites ARPAS-UK members to complete an online survey where you can share your views on drone opportunities and challenges, regulations and potential airspace futures.
Thank you for your interest in the project and for sharing your views.
Bio: Dr Anna Jackman is a Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Reading. Through the lens of the drone, Anna’s research explores the ‘unmanning’ of everyday, urban and military life. Anna is currently leading an ESRC-funded research project, ‘diversifying drone stories’. Anna acted as the Specialist Advisor for the 2019 House of Commons Science and Technology Committee Inquiry into ‘Commercial and recreational drone use in the UK’, and contributed as an expert witness to the Defence Committee’s 2019 Inquiry into the ‘Domestic threat of drones’.
25 August 2022
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DroneX: Why you should attend
DroneX will be held on September 7-8th at Excel, London. ARPAS-UK are the headline partners for the show – and we’re delighted to be so, supporting the drone industry as it progresses.
DroneX will build on the success of the 2021 show, with over 300 exhibitors and 150 presentations. As the show is co-located with Helitech, expect a number of presentations in that half of the show, with particular focus on the sharing of airspace.
Highlights of the show include the ARPAS-UK CEO, Graham Brown, talking alongside Gordon Baker of the the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy: Achieving the UK’s Drone Ambition and Some Steps to Achieve the Potential. This talk will be on both days of the show: on Wednesday 7th September at 13:15 and Thursday 8th September at 14:00
In the light of the second PwC report on the importance of drones to the UK economy, there are some considerable benefits that the UK should set out to achieve.
Drones could contribute up to £45bn to the UK economy
More than 900,000 drones could operate in the UK’s skies
£22bn in net cost savings may be realised
Carbon emissions could be reduced by 2.4M tons
650,000 jobs could be associated with an economy that fully adopts drones
Craig Roberts, the Drone Department Lead, will be talking about the report at the Show on Thursday 8th September at 15:30. Come and listen to him to put the report into context.
The report was released concurrently to the UK Government’s ambition statement and vision for commercial drones. The Chair of the Drone Industry Action Group, Professor Iain Gray of Cranfield University said:
This is an exciting time for the UK’s drone sector. My hope is that this report will help demystify drones – showing how they are already being used in a range of settings – and help give businesses the confidence to engage with the UK’s drone innovators and to benefit from these new tools. This report shines a light on some of the more significant barriers to realising drone potential and recommends actions necessary to address them.”
As you can, this is an exciting and important time for the industry. Come to the Show, come and see us on stand D60 and come and listen to these presenations.
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Smith Myers to take part in ARCSAR ‘catastrophe exercise’
Smith Myers to take part in Arctic ‘catastrophe exercise’ with international partners to demonstrate ARTEMIS airborne Search and Rescue technologies
Showcasing a range of SAR platforms including crewed and uncrewed aircraft, the disaster and resilience planning exercise LIVEX led by the innovation network ARCSAR (Arctic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network) will take place 28th August – 1st September outside of Svalbard, northern Norway. ThePolarQuest expedition ship M/S Quest will embark on a cruise along the west side of Spitsbergen with 50 passengers and a crew of 25 people. The exercise will also take place in the waters outside of Longyearbyen.
Smith Myers – a member of the ARCSAR network – will demonstrate its award-winning ARTEMIS SAR line up based on detect and find features transforming mobile phones into location beacons for airborne search teams on board a Royal Norwegian Airforce SAR AW101 helicopter during a live exercise in Norway’s extreme northern coastal region. The exercise will showcase a range of technologies and applications including crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
Captions from left to right:
1. Smith Myers ARTEMIS detect and find technology is deployed by the Royal Norwegian Airforce on Search and Rescue duties with the Leonardo AW101 SAR Queen for service throughout Norway. ARTEMIS will play a significant role in the ARCAR Arctice exercise.
2. The PolarQuest expedition ship M/S Quest is to serve as a vessel in distress during the exercise LIVEX on Svalbard. (Photo: Helbild.se)
3. The disaster and resilience planning exercise LIVEX led by the innovation network ARCSAR (Arctic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network) will take place outside of Svalbard, northern Norway. (Photo: Arne Naevra)
According to Peter Myers, director at Smith Myers, who will be one of the passengers on the M/S Quest: “This exercise is exactly the environment ARTEMIS was designed for, the system employed by the Royal Norwegian Airforce for Search and Rescue duties with the Leonardo AW101 SAR Queen bears testament to our commitment to the region that experiences significant communications challenges. ARTEMIS can Detect, Locate and Communicate with phones even when there is no local cellular network coverage.
“The opportunity to not only demonstrate but share best practice with the spectrum of ARCSAR network partners, is an important part of the programme and we are committed to providing our game-changing technology globally.”
The idea behind the project is that cooperation is even more important in the face of security threats resulting from increased commercial activity in the region including ship traffic and offshore oil and gas activity. We share best practices and develop new practices within preparedness and safety at sea.
“During the exercise, we will also be testing out new technology in demanding Arctic environments. For example, we will be searching for missing persons by turning their mobile phone into a distress beacon, which is challenging in the High North with regards to local communications coverage,” explained Network partner Kevin Fitzgibbon, leader of HALPIN Centre for Research & Innovation, National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI).
ARTEMIS turns any mobile phone into a rescue beacon, only requiring two small antennas to generate a latitude/longitude fix at ranges in excess of 30Km, offering a radical and effective alternative to traditional airborne sensors and direction-finding systems:
• Texting and calls in no service areas
• Automatic cueing of EO/IR (Electro -Optical/Infra-Red)
• Deployment as a stand-alone with embedded mapping or integrated with leading mission system providers
• Making missions in low light/ IMC (Instrument Meteorological Conditions) safer and increasing the odds for a positive outcome
• Available in several SWaP configurations for manned/unmanned platforms
The project is led by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Northern Norway and the project consortium is comprised of 20 partners, including Smith Myers, from 12 countries.
ARTEMIS has been in active service saving lives around the world and this year Smith Myers celebrates its 35th anniversary. The global customer base includes deployment with the Royal Norwegian Airforce for Search and Rescue duties with the Leonardo AW101 SAR Queen for service throughout Norway, and has received many international awards, including the coveted Royal Aeronautical Society Silver medal. Current area of interest includes Western and Eastern Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
Smith Myers Communications Ltd is an award-winning UK company specialising in the design, development, manufacture and support of application specific cellular network and handset capabilities for Network Operators, Government Agencies, Law Enforcement, Military, and Search and Rescue organisations. Awards include Royal Aeronautical Society Silver Medal; ADS Security Innovation Awards, British Engineering Excellence Award, and ICCA (International Critical Communications) Award.
The ARCSAR Network (Arctic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network) addresses the Arctic and North-Atlantic (ANA) region, preparing to cope with the security and safety threats that will result from increased commercial activity in the region including traffic through the northern passages, cruise traffic, and offshore oil and gas activity. Key challenges for Search and Rescue (SAR) operations in the ANA region include long distances, severe weather, ice and cold conditions, a poor communications network, lack of infrastructure and limited resources. Increased traffic on transpolar shipping routes expected in the near future, could prove a big challenge for the communications infrastructure. Communications satellites operating in geostationary Earth orbit do not cover the area of the Arctic. Even when a link can be made, it can be prone to interruption from icing on antennas, or from disruption caused by heavy seas.
Introducing Clogworks’ second-generation Dark Matter qD
With a re-designed, 30% lighter airframe combined with a 3Kg+ payload capacity and 55+ minute flight time, the Clogworks DMqD Gen 2 is a perfect fleet addition for more demanding survey and inspection applications.
There has been a seismic shift towards UAV based applications in recent years, driven by their ease of use, increasing capabilities and constantly improving safety.
Naturally, as adoption increases, so does demand for more capable drones that can fly for longer whilst carrying heavier payloads.
The Dark Matter qD Gen 2 has been developed to not only meet, but exceed our pilots demands. Not just for present day, but for years to come.
Modular Design Like its bigger brother, the hX Gen 2, the qD has a modular design. The arms can be swapped out for a more powerful drive train to provide more thrust and redundancy for bigger payloads, the legs can also be configured as a long leg set up, short leg set up, fixed landing gear and a tripod mounted lading system to assist the aircraft when landing on moving or uneven surfaces.
This enables the qD to carry a bigger variety of payloads and increases safety when flying in more challenging environments. These individual user specifications can be applied at the point of order or can be made to order later on, providing maximum flexibility for our customers and their constantly growing list of requirements.
But the modular design benefits don’t stop there. Virtually any part of our aircraft can be upgraded – meaning that when the next generation of autopilot systems are released, you don’t have to replace the entire aircraft to have access to the latest features. We simply remove the old hardware and replace it with the newer hardware, allowing our customers to continue to make use of their perfectly operational aircraft as well as maximizing their ROI.
Cover More Ground The qD is available with different drive train options and it can also be flown with one or two batteries. The result is a staggering flight time of 55+ minutes, with enough still in the tank to return and land safely.
Even more impressive, is a flight time of 45+ minutes with a 1.5Kg payload. This makes the qD Gen 2 an extremely capable aircraft when paired with a Yellowscan LiDAR, Workswell WIRIS sensor or a Viewpro camera payload to name a few examples.
All of our Dark Matter platforms now come single band RTK ready too, meaning surveys can be completed with extremely high accuracy.
But it doesn’t stop there, if the job covers an even larger area, the aircraft can be landed and the batteries ‘hotswapped’ to allow mission continuity.
GCS Flexibility Our Dark Matter aircraft are now Ardupilot based, harnessing the potential of an open source platform being developed by a global community.
With this, comes maximum flexibility for our pilots, as some of the most popular GCS platforms are now supported by our aircraft. Our two most popular controller options are also android based, meaning the GCS application (if available) can be downloaded and installed.
Safety As A Top Priority
Whilst we have pushed the envelope in terms of performance and reliability, we have also put a huge focus on safety for the qD. * The lenses for the navigational lighting have been redeveloped to make the aircraft more conspicuous by cleverly dispersing the light. * All our aircraft now also come with dual GPS modules as standard, ensuring the aircraft knows exactly where it is at all times. It has also been programmed to select the other GPS module in the event that one starts providing erroneous data. * The autopilot module also has three temperature controlled IMU’s, two of which are mechanically vibration dampened to reduce the effect of frame vibration to state estimation. There are also two onboard barometers.
* The entire system from airframe to each individual component has been intentionally over-engineered to ensure our platforms can be as safe and reliable as possible for our pilots. * ADS-B options are now available for our aircraft too. This, along with the improved lighting, allows the aircraft to be as conspicuous and as visible as possible to both local aircraft and ATC.
Customization From The Ground Up At Clogworks, we are committed to so much more than just manufacturing aircraft as an ‘off the shelf’ solution. We have various configurations available for our aircraft. But we also develop tailored solutions to meet our customers’ exact requirements.
We work with our customers from the initial idea, right the way through to the final, delivered solution. Looking for something specific? Something that isn’t readily available? Then get in touch with us! We will be able to assist.
Want To Know More? Get in touch with us at: Website – www.clogworks.com Email – info@clogworks.com Phone – 01484 687989 Address – Clogworks Technologies Limited Lee Mills Industrial Estate, Scholes, Holmfirth, West Yorkshire HD9 1RT, UK
Clogworks are an ARPAS-UK Member
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Advancing airborne autonomy: use of commercial drones in the UK
Ambition statement and vision for commercial drones, created jointly by government and the sector, outlining the 2030 potential, current use cases and support and enablers for the future.
This ambition statement outlines how government and the drone sector will work together to achieve a vision for commercial drones will be commonplace in the UK by 2030, in a way that benefits the economy and wider society, delivering new capabilities, boosting productivity, and reducing emissions and risk to life, while sharing airspace equitably and safely with other users.
The statement outlines the huge potential for drones, which PWC recently estimated could be worth £45 billion to the UK economy by 2030: see Skies without Limits 2.0. It sets out a range of examples of how drones are already being effectively deployed and outlines how key enablers in technology, regulation, funding, business support and public perception will be realised. The document targets potential users of commercial drone solutions and aims to inspire new investment into the sector and more widespread end-user uptake of UK commercial drone capabilities.
The statement aligns with wider future of flight and transport ambitions, benefiting from increased electrification and automation. It does not forecast their potential to carry passengers or consider counter-drone technologies.
Published18 July 2022
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Skies without Limits v2.0: PwC
PwC have launched their updated reported on the impact drones will have on the UK’s economy, productivity, jobs and quality of life. The original report was published in 2018.
Drones offer public and private organisations an opportunity to carry out tasks faster, safer, cheaper and with less impact on the environment than traditional methods. This report focuses on these types of drone operations, which PwC refers to as “Commercial Drones”, excluding drones used by hobbyists, drones used to transport passengers and counter-drone solutions.
Drones could contribute up to £45bn to the UK economy
More than 900,000 drones could operate in the UK’s skies
£22bn in net cost savings may be realised
Carbon emissions could be reduced by 2.4M tons
650,000 jobs could be associated with an economy that fully adopts drones
