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52 detection and ranging, dual imager sensors incorporating EO and medium- wave infrared, and other options for payloads up to 40 lb. In addition, Insitu teamed up with Esri in September 2017 to fit one of the latter’s geographic information systems on board a fleet of ScanEagles in order to support first responders during wildfires in Eagle Creek, Oregon. Using the FAA’s Warm Springs UAS test range, the ScanEagles monitored 49,000 acres in the Columbia River Gorge region using EO/IR payloads integrated with Esri’s ArcGIS system, providing operators with real-time situation awareness to identify perimeters, fires, fire lines and hotspots. Airspace issues The future success of UASs in the commercial sector will rely heavily on access to national airspace, with Damush expecting to witness routine flights of unmanned aircraft in mixed-use space with manned craft within the next five to ten years. That though would require significant developments in sense and avoid technology, he says – an issue that has already scuppered the German government’s plans to fly EuroHawk HALE craft across domestic airspace. The programme was cancelled in 2013 owing to “airworthiness and airspace integration” issues, according to government sources. “The primary capability gap is technology to enable unmanned systems to satisfy various ‘sense and avoid’ rules in national airspaces,” Damush explains. “Most of the operating procedures in the world’s most populous airspace – continental Europe – have a rule that assigns ultimate responsibility for avoiding mid-air collisions to the pilot in command, who is assumed to be in the cockpit. “When you take the pilot out of the cockpit, that assumption is no longer valid, so we as an industry must work to show the regulator that we can comply with that operating procedure and accept that responsibility through other means.” Damush also warns of a series of additional capability gaps that currently restrict progress of UAS surveillance across the commercial market. These include bandwidth availability across the commercial radio spectrum that can be used for safe and secure command and control of air vehicles, as well as internet availability in remote areas. “Many of the tasks that apply to aircraft in general are defined by the need to cover large distances in a minimal amount of time,” he says. “Aviation therefore provides operators of significant infrastructures with a means to inspect and maintain them. “As more complex and capable sensors are developed though, the demands on bandwidth increase to the point where the raw collection data has to be moved to a computer node powerful enough to process the raw data into actionable insights. “Some of that demand is in the form of large movements of data; some is in the form of real-time connectivity to live sensor data. There is the need for both based on different use cases, but the underlying demand for available bandwidth is the same. “I believe we will see more automation and the introduction of autonomy into the operations of unmanned systems, with a trend towards unmanned systems as December/January 2018 | Unmanned Systems Technology The ScanEagle has supported missions including wildfires across California which required an airborne surveillance capability to support firefighters and other first responders (Courtesy of Insitu)