Give way, drones ahead! Dr Reece Clothier President, Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Senior Lecturer, RMIT University 8th Annual Victorian Transport Infrastructure Conference th June 2016, Melbourne, Australia Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

What is a Drone (RPAS/UAS)? Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems 2 BUT IT’S MORE THAN AN AIRCRAFT REMOTE CREW, CONTROL STATION, COMMUNICATIONS, LAUNCH AND RECOVERY, DATA DISTRIBUTION AND PROCESSING… BUT IT’S MORE THAN AN AIRCRAFT REMOTE CREW, CONTROL STATION, COMMUNICATIONS, LAUNCH AND RECOVERY, DATA DISTRIBUTION AND PROCESSING…

The Industry Today Australian industry is undergoing a period of rapid growth Majority of systems in operation: Small RPA (less than 25 kg) Multi-rotor type Release of new regulations ( Sept 16 ) Expected to stimulate continued growth particularly in the operators of < 2kg aircraft Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems 3 67% 28% 3% 2% Other

General Applications in the Transportation Sector Infrastructure planning, construction, and sustainment Scheduled asset monitoring, inspection, and repair Survey and construction Unscheduled inspection Transport system information Provision of on demand, high accuracy information on system performance E.g., congestion, incident response, etc. New transportation sector/service provider Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems 4 Picture: Alex Coppel

Small Multi-Rotor Capability Form the majority of systems in use today Suited to scheduled point / local operations Provision of inspection services (outdoors and indoors) Survey work and construction Site security Currently limited by Endurance and range (regulatory) Reliability of platform (improving) Payload capacity Level of autonomy Environmental conditions 5 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

Small Fixed-Wing Capability Capability 500-5,000ft typical altitude 12+ hours endurance High-end low power payloads (EO/IR, SAR, etc.) Suited to “long” or broad area sustained operations Linear asset monitoring Erosion Vegetation encroachment / dangerous trees near tracks, roadways, etc. Emergency / incident response Enforcement Currently limited by Regulations largely limiting them to line of sight, low altitude, rural areas System operational cost Not readily available (limited number of service providers) 6 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

Rotorcraft Capability 7 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Capability Typical altitude RMAX: < 1,000ft, KMAX: < 10,000 ft Endurance hours Diverse payload (EO/IR, SAR, sprays, etc.) Suited to multi-mode operations Asset monitoring and inspection Vegetation management Medium range delivery (e.g., KMAX lift capacity of 6,000lbs at SSL) Currently limited by Technology availability and maturity (for larger systems) Regulations largely limiting them to line of sight, low altitude, rural areas System operational cost

HALE Capability Capability Pseudo satellites Solar powered 20km + altitude Endurance > 2 weeks EO/IR at 15cm resolution Applications System wide information and monitoring Limited by: Technology maturity and availability 8 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Zephyr UAS :

Challenges - Regulations Managing the risks posed to other aircraft and people on the ground Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR 1998) Significant restrictions on operations beyond visual line of sight and over populous areas Approval of true “autonomy” is a while off Keeping up with rate of technology development and use-cases 9 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

Challenges - Security Security threat risk associated with drones has yet to be addressed Potential for misuse - how will you protect your business? Potential to be a “target” of a threat - how will you protect your drone operations? Applies to the entire “system” as well as its data Potential access point to end-user and other networked infrastructure systems Lack of regulations applicable to RPAS security Security is currently an afterthought in design 10 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Cartoon: Jeff Koterba

Challenges - Privacy High public sensitivity Lack of legislation applicable to any technology and not just drones Envisaged difficulties in managing a breach of privacy Determining the culprit Determining whether personal information was actually collected this would often not occur to until after it has been disclosed Determining that they had intent How to manage perceived breaches of privacy A single operation in a built-up area has a potentially large exposure to privacy complaints Screening of vexatious or trivial complaints 11 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

Challenges - Professionalism Fly-by-nighters New aviation sector, with many “new” entrants Barrier to entry is low Difficult to enforce regulations End user knowledge of the regulations that apply to drones is low Should only contract the services of a CASA approved operator Ask to see their approval (as well as the conditions imposed by CASA) Ask for a copy of their insurance What is the Association doing? AAUS is working on a code of conduct and professional endorsement scheme to promote high standard of professionalism within the industry Educating end users as well as the industry 12 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

Challenges – Public Acceptance Key is earning public trust Limited public knowledge of the industry Benefits to the general public aren’t immediately obvious Media reporting has focussed on many negative issues around the technology Knowledge is key to how people perceive technology and then form “their position” on a technology It has been shown that once someone forms their position, it takes a lot more effort to change it 13 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Photo Copyright © 2013 KMGH

Summary Exciting technology which is already providing significant benefits to the transport sector They are not a solution to every problem The business case in some application use cases may not stack up Capability in some areas is still under development Regulations, technology maturity, availability to civil/commercial users, etc. But exciting future ahead! Challenges that are being addressed Safety regulations, security, privacy, social, legal, economic, and ethical 14 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems

Questions? 15 Copyright © 2016 Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Would like more information? Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) Come talk to us: om

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