Program Information

Series: Destination Tomorrow
Program: Episode 6
Segment Number: 4 (Watch entire program)
Duration: 00:05:49
Year Produced: 2003
Description:

NASA Destination Tomorrow Segment showcasing NASA's small unmanned aerial vehicle program and its applications in fighting forest fires, performing military operations, and saving tax dollars.

NASA's Destination Tomorrow™ is a series of 30-minute programs that focus on NASA research. Each exciting program gives the audience an inside look at NASA and demonstrates how research and technology relate to our everyday lives.

For more information visit: http://destination.larc.nasa.gov/

Transcript

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES,
OR U.A.V.s,
MAY LOOK LIKE
TYPICAL TOY AIRPLANES,
BUT THIS TECHNOLOGY
SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED.

U.A.V.s ARE BEING USED FOR
A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TASKS,
INCLUDING LAW ENFORCEMENT,
SEARCH AND RESCUE,
AND SPECIFIC
MILITARY OPERATIONS.

CURRENTLY, RESEARCHERS
IN THE SMALL, UNMANNED,
AERIAL VEHICLE LABORATORY,
OR SUAVE LAB,
AT NASA LANGLEY
ARE DEVELOPING UNIQUE U.A.V.s
TO PERFORM
IN HIGH-RISK SITUATIONS
THAT MAY BE TOO DANGEROUS
OR COSTLY FOR HUMANS.

I SPOKE WITH MIKE LOGAN AT
NASA'S LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER
TO FIND OUT MORE.

PRIMARILY,
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO
IS SOLVE PROBLEMS FOR PEOPLE.

THEY WILL COME TO US
WITH A PARTICULAR PROBLEM,
AND WE TRY AND DESIGN
AND DEVELOP A SMALL AIRPLANE
TO HELP SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.

IN SOME CASES,
WE MAY USE BRAND-NEW TECHNOLOGY
THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING
HERE AT NASA
TO INCORPORATE
IN THESE SMALL AIRPLANES
THAT HELP US
TO SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS.

SO THEY CAN COME TO US,
WHERE THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE
TO GO ANYWHERE ELSE,
AND GET THOSE PROBLEMS SOLVED.

SO WHAT KIND OF CONFIGURATIONS
DO U.A.V.s COME IN?

(Logan)
WELL, AS YOU
CAN IMAGINE,
DIFFERENT PROBLEMS
REQUIRE DIFFERENT SOLUTIONS.

FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAD
A GROUP COME TO US
AND WANTED
A BACKPACK OBSERVATION VEHICLE,
WHERE IT COULD FIT
INTO A BACKPACK.

THEY COULD TAKE IT OUT,
UNFOLD IT,
AND TOSS IT IN THE AIR
AND FLY IT.

IT WOULD RADIO BACK
VIDEO IMAGES.

IN THIS CASE,
THE WINGS FOLD UNDERNEATH,
AND THIS FITS
INTO A 15x15x5-INCH BOX,
VERY LIGHT,
VERY COMPACT.

WE ALSO TEST
CONFIGURATIONS
BEFORE WE ACTUALLY MAKE
A FLYING MODEL.

THIS IS
A WIND TUNNEL MODEL
OF A SMALL, SINGLE-SEAT
GENERAL AVIATION AIRCRAFT
THAT WE CALL
THE CHANNEL BUG.

IT HAS
THESE UNIQUE CONFIGURATIONS
CALLED CHANNEL WINGS,
AND IT LETS THIS VEHICLE
TAKE OFF AND LAND
IN A 50-FOOT RUNWAY.

AND OF COURSE,
IF YOU WANT IT EVEN SMALLER,
THEN WE HAVE
A SMALLER VEHICLE
THAT WOULD BE CAPABLE
OF FLYING INTO A BUILDING.

(Leonidoff)
AND HOW IS
ONE OF THESE CREATED?

WHAT'S THE PROCESS THAT GOES
INTO DEVELOPING A U.A.V.?

(Logan)
WELL, THE FIRST THING WE DO IS,
WE TRY AND ANALYZE THE PROBLEM,
AND WE USE A LOT OF
COMPUTER-AIDED TECHNOLOGIES
TO HELP US WITH THAT.

ONCE WE GET A DESIGN
THAT WE'RE HAPPY WITH,
THEN WE'LL--MANY TIMES--
FOR EXAMPLE, THIS IS A MOCK-UP
OF THAT SAME CONFIGURATION.

IT WAS DONE USING A PROCESS
CALLED STEREOLITHOGRAPHY,
WHERE THE COMPUTER DIVIDES UP
THIS MODEL INTO LITTLE SLICES.

IT TRACES EACH SLICE
ONTO A VAT
OF PHOTOREACTIVE RESIN
THAT HARDENS IT.

IT BUILDS IT
SLICE BY SLICE,

AND THEN IT COMES OUT
AS A SOLID PIECE.

SO WE CAN TAKE THIS MOCK-UP
TO MAKE SURE
THAT IT'S GOING TO BE
THE RIGHT SIZE
AND SHAPE THAT WE WANT.

AND THEN WE CAN TURN IT
INTO A FLYING VEHICLE
BY USING
THOSE SAME C.A.D. FILES,
MILLING A MOLD
TO MAKE
THE LITTLE SKINS
FOR THIS VEHICLE,
AND TURN IT
INTO A REAL AIRPLANE
SIMILAR TO WHAT
YOU SEE HERE.

SO WHAT ARE
SOME OF THE ADVANTAGES
THAT A U.A.V. HAS
OVER A REGULAR PILOTED AIRCRAFT?

THERE'S A NUMBER
OF ADVANTAGES
THAT U.A.V.s HAVE
OVER PILOTED AIRPLANES.

(Leonidoff)
ONE OF WHICH IS THE ABILITY
TO FLY LOWER, LONGER,
AND INTO MORE HAZARDOUS AIRSPACE
THAN ANY PILOT WOULD DARE.

MUCH LIKE ROBOTS ARE USED
TO HANDLE EXPLOSIVES
IN MANY POLICE
OR S.W.A.T. SITUATIONS,
THE U.A.V. CAN BE PLACED
IN HIGH-THREAT SITUATIONS,
PERFORM EXCEPTIONALLY,
AND COMPLETE ITS MISSION
WITH LITTLE OR NO RISK
TO HUMAN OPERATORS.

WITH ADVANCES IN AUDIO
AND VIDEO ELECTRONICS,
REAL-TIME TELEVISION IMAGES
ARE POSSIBLE
TO HELP GUIDE A PILOT
AROUND DANGEROUS SITUATIONS
OR GATHER VALUABLE INTELLIGENCE.

ONE OF THE PROBLEMS
WE WERE PRESENTED WITH WAS
A PROBLEM OF TRYING TO LOOK AT
WHAT'S INSIDE OF, MAYBE,
A PARTIALLY DAMAGED BUILDING.

FOR EXAMPLE,
IN THE CASE OF AN EARTHQUAKE,
YOU REALLY DON'T WANT TO RISK
A WHOLE TEAM OF PEOPLE
GOING INTO THAT BUILDING,
BUT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW
IF THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE
THAT YOU NEED TO GO RESCUE.

SO WHEN PRESENTED
WITH THIS CHALLENGE,
WE WORKED UP A LITTLE PROTOTYPE.

THAT'S WHAT YOU
SEE HERE.

THIS IS A LITTLE VEHICLE
THAT WOULD CARRY A CAMERA.

IT TAKES OFF VERTICALLY.

THIS IS WHAT'S CALLED A VTOL,
OR VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING.

TAKES OFF VERTICALLY,
WINGS PITCH FORWARD
FOR FORWARD FLIGHT,
BUT THEN WHEN IT
NEEDS TO HOVER,
IT CAN STOP AND HOVER.

IT CAN TURN BY MOVING
THE WINGS DIFFERENTIALLY.

AND IT CAN BE FLOWN
BY REMOTE CONTROL
BY USING A DISPLAY
THAT ACTUALLY SHOWS THE PICTURE
OF THE CAMERA
IN THE NOSE.

SO YOU FLY IT REMOTELY
FROM THE CAMERA.

(Leonidoff)
ALL WITHOUT RISKING
THE PILOT
OR ANYONE REMOTE-CONTROLLING
THE VEHICLE.

(Logan)
CORRECT.

ANOTHER PROBLEM
THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT
IS TRYING TO USE THESE
SMALL, UNMANNED AIR VEHICLES
TO DETECT FOREST FIRES.

THAT'S CLEARLY A BIG PROBLEM.

FINDING AND FIGHTING
FOREST FIRES NOW
IS VERY, VERY EXPENSIVE.

(Leonidoff)
THE AVERAGE COST
OF FIGHTING FOREST FIRES
IN THE UNITED STATES
IS OVER $800 MILLION A YEAR.

ONE REASON THAT FIGHTING
FOREST FIRES IS SO COSTLY
IS THAT, BY THE TIME
MANY FIRES ARE DETECTED,
THEY ARE ALREADY UNMANAGEABLE.

ALTHOUGH 98%
OF ALL FOREST FIRES
ARE CAUGHT
AND EXTINGUISHED QUICKLY,
IT'S THE 2%
THAT TURN INTO WILDFIRES
COSTING TAXPAYERS MILLIONS.

THIS IS WHERE THE IDEA
FOR THE U.A.V. COMES IN.

THE PLAN IS TO PLACE HUNDREDS
OF THESE LOW-COST U.A.V.s
ON CURRENT OR ABANDONED
FOREST FIRE LOOKOUT STATIONS
AROUND THE COUNTRY.

THE VEHICLE
WOULD REMOTELY TAKE OFF, LAND,
AND RECHARGE AUTONOMOUSLY
UP TO SIX TIMES A DAY
FROM THE LOOKOUT TOWER.

IT WOULD TRAVEL OVER
A SECTION OF THE FOREST
AND USE ONBOARD SENSORS
AND CAMERAS TO DETECT SMOKE.

IF SMOKE IS DETECTED,
IT WOULD SEND OUT
A WARNING MESSAGE
TO THE FOREST SERVICE
WITH THE EXACT
G.P.S. COORDINATES
PINPOINTING THE FIRE.

THIS WOULD ENABLE FIREFIGHTERS
TO RESPOND MUCH FASTER,
POTENTIALLY REDUCING
FIREFIGHTING COSTS DRAMATICALLY.

SO, MIKE, WHAT DOES
THE FUTURE HOLD FOR U.A.V.s?

(Logan)
WELL, WE'RE LOOKING
AT A WHOLE RANGE OF ACTIVITIES
AND THINGS THAT THESE
SMALL AIRPLANES CAN ACTUALLY DO,
BEYOND JUST SAVING MONEY,
BUT DEFENDING OUR COUNTRY,
SAVING LIVES,
SOLVING PROBLEMS.

THAT'S WHAT THE SUAVE LAB
IS ALL ABOUT.

Virginia Standards

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