Search results

Amongst all classes of unmanned aircraft system (UAS), the rise of the Mini UAS class is the most dominant. Mini UASs are field-deployable systems and hence are not expected to operate from a runway. Therefore, the operating terrain plays an important role in the deployment and employment of the Mini UAS. However, there is limited published work in this area. The impact of terrain is more critical for military applications than civilian applications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications of various types of terrain on the employment and deployment of Mini UAS.

This paper explores the implications of various types of terrain on the employment and deployment of Mini UAS.

Mini UAS with field deployable requirements is often launched within the tactical battle area in case of military applications or in close proximity to the intended target area for civilian applications. Due to the size and weight of the Mini UAS, launch and recovery becomes an important factor to be considered. Rotary wing or fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing configuration UAS overcomes the limitations of Mini UAS and hence it is the preferred option. Impact of the terrain is significantly higher for military applications as compared to civil applications. Mountain terrain is the most challenging for Mini UAS operations.

This paper will help the designers configure the UAS as per the operating terrain.

Terrain affects the deployment and employment of Mini UAS and the capabilities of the system with respect to terrain in which it is expected to operate must be considered during the design of a Mini UAS. The paper will help the designers configure the UAS as per the operating terrain.

This paper aims to evaluate the factors that dictate the design of a mini unmanned aircraft system (UAS).

This paper analyses various dimensions that dictate the design criteria for a mini UAS.

Compared to civil applications, design of mini UAS for military application is much more challenging owing to combat restrictions. Topics related to civil applications dominate research in the field of mini UAS, with over 60% of the papers accounting for civil applications. Limited published articles related to military applications are available. While 86% of the in-production mini UAS is primarily meant for military applications, only 9% of the research is devoted to military applications of mini UAS. Most mini UAS, although designed primarily for military applications, are also extensively used for various civil applications. Critical aspects that influence the employment of mini UAS in the tactical battlespace are area of interest, type of operation, type of operational tasks, terrain and network-centric operations. All these factors collectively impact the design of a mini UAS.

According to various studies, mini UAS is the fastest growing segment amongst all classes of UAS. This paper will provide vital inputs to the designers and manufacturers of mini UAS for both military and civil applications.

Mini UAS are in the list of “must-have” for modern militaries across the world and is also growing exponentially in the civil domain. Therefore, it is important to understand the critical factors that dictate the design of mini UAS.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, such an analysis is not available in the open domain.

The purpose of this paper is to review the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Conference and Show held in Washington DC, with emphasis on unmanned vehicles or service robots and their application on the ground, in the air and in the water.

In‐depth interviews with exhibitors of unmanned vehicles and the providers of the technologies which are fundamental to their design and deployment.

The unmanned vehicle industry is largely driven by government requirements, both military and civilian. Unmanned service robots are also found in applications such as crop monitoring and fish school location at sea. Unmanned vehicles are getting smaller, smarter and more rugged to meet new challenges.

Unmanned vehicles continue to address air, ground and marine application needs where human safety is important. The vehicles continue to become more and more autonomous, smaller and ever better to address a wider range of application requirements.

The present study aimed to demonstrate different computational models, data and stability results obtained in a wide number of projects of various aircrafts such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), general aviation and big passenger flying airliners in blended wing body (BWB) configurations. Many details of modeling and computing are shown for unconventional configurations, namely, for a BWB aircraft and for tailless UAVs.

Mathematical models for analysis of static and dynamic stability were built and investigated based on equations of motion in the linearized form using the so-called state variable model for a steady-state disturbed, generally asymmetric, flight.

Flight dynamics models and associated computational procedures appeared to be useful, both in a preliminary design phase and during the final assessment of the configuration at flight tests. It was also found that the difference between thresholds for static and dynamic stability conditions was equal to 9 per cent of mean aerodynamic chord (MAC) in the case of BWB and 3 per cent of MAC in the case of tailless UAVs.

Many useful information about aircraft dynamics can be easily obtained from computational analyses including time to half/double and periods of oscillation, undamped frequencies, damping ratio and many others. Stability analysis of different unconventional configurations will be easier and faster if an access to such configurations is available.

This paper presents a very efficient method of assessment of the designing parameters, especially in an early stage of the design process. In open literature, there are a great number of datasets for classical configurations, but it is hard to find anything for passenger BWB and tailless UAVs. Stability computations are performed based on equations of motion derived in the stability frame of the reference fixed with one-quarter of MAC. It can be considered as an original, not typical but a very practical approach because values of stability and control derivatives do not change even if the centre of gravity is travelling.

The aim of this paper is to identify the business barriers that influence cost of implementing unmanned aerial system (UAS) and its suitability for a decentralised system. UAS, or drone, plays a role of data provider to architectural, engineering and construction professionals within a decentralised system. However, the expectations in the execution and test of the effectiveness of the UAS is often not met. The reasons for these fails are not well elaborated in the literature. Hence, the study investigates the barriers and cost analysis of UAS that can be used for a decentralised case, in which the UAS data are useful for multiple stakeholders, and provide illustration of the interactions within this approach.

This paper is part of a longitudinal project by using a qualitative method of interviewing 24 participants involved in the process of application of drones in the country of the Dominican Republic. The open-ended semi-structured interviews were composed for questions regarding the application of UAS, barriers and business implications. The data gathered were transcribed and used thematic analysis for its interpretation. Later, conclusions of the barriers of UAS implementation in the organisation were analysed and a cost model was developed to identify a viable scenario.

The paper provides empirical insights about the barriers and economic considerations faced in the implementation process of UAS. In this research, 16 barriers in the implementation process at the management level, 8 types of cases of business relationships and 13 business models were identified. Furthermore, recommendations were made about being the accountability of the dimensions and recurrent visits to the projects handled by the portfolio of the organisations.

Blockchain system is supported by UAS data and its tests require skills and resources that were outside of the scope of the main research intend regarding UAS implementation in construction. Furthermore, as these technologies are still under development, the assessment of the decentralised system, smart contract and swarm technology was addressed conceptually and further research are encouraged in this field.

The paper includes barriers to consider before implementation, business implications, project examples and cost structure developed. Furthermore, the findings are fit theoretically into the context of a decentralised system. It was understood and contemplated that monitoring in open and outdoor spaces is the suitable approach for UAS implementations for decentralised system. The trend of decentralised autonomous organisations for transparency and efficiency of human tasks provides the foundations of human–robot interactions as well as the role of tokenisation of assets into the cyberspace. Therefore, the paper brings managers and technicians the implications for the future-proofing the implementation of UAS.

This paper provides an overview of the implications of cost and the suitable scenarios for return of investment in the UAS implementation in the current stage of the technology development. In addition, the paper makes reference to decentralised systems, smart contracts and swarm technology as options in which reality capture technologies are essential for construction projects.

Food fortification with common kitchen ingredients has been suggested to improve nutritional intake. The purpose of this paper was to systematically review the efficacy of food fortification on calorie and protein intake among older adults.

A systematic search was conducted using Boolean search logic and seven research databases to identify interventions using fortified foods to increase calorie and protein intake among older adults. Ten studies published in English since 1996 were eligible for inclusion. Study quality was evaluated using an adapted Modified Jadad Questionnaire.

Food fortification was associated with increased calorie intake in eight studies, increased protein intake in five studies, and increased body weight in three studies. However, studies were limited by lack of rigor in methodology and small sample sizes.

Food fortification may improve calorie and protein intake, but results are limited by study weaknesses. Additionally, it is unclear whether improved intake results in improved clinical outcomes.

In this paper, we present a proposed information environment (PROPIE) for enhanced interaction and value‐adding of electronic documents (e‐documents). The design of PROPIE was based on a thorough user needs and requirements assessment in interacting with information through well‐documented findings, and a focus group with twelve participants to elicit features that were deemed desirable in future interactions. The design was also based on an earlier work which reviewed the advancements in various user interface (UI) technologies, visualisation and interactive techniques, and a consideration of novel information structuring and organisation techniques that pose important implications for the design of more advanced UIs. Providing a suite of novel features and interactive tools that can be flexibly combined, PROPIE allows users to apply multiple novel ways to query intuitively and navigate information in an e‐document. The querying and browsing processes in PROPIE are supported by various interactive and visualisation techniques. Users work within a visually sovereign, integrated environment for information gathering and organising, based on navigable, fractional information objects that are also affiliated with rich metadata and additional layers of value‐adding information. A set of interface mock‐ups was developed to demonstrate the potential of the environment in supporting the design of a new generation of electronic journals (e‐journals). We report here empirical results from a study conducted to obtain representative users‘ feedback with regard to using PROPIE for interacting with e‐journals. Twenty‐two participants from a variety of academic backgrounds participated in the evaluation. Overall, PROPIE was found to have the potential both for enhancing the user’s interaction with information captured within e‐journals and for adding value to e‐documents in various ways.

Companion animals and social media are two important factors of social interaction and well-being among the older population. This study aims to compare social media use and/or having companion animals with respect to sociodemographic variables in conjunction with loneliness, social isolation, depression, satisfaction with life and satisfaction with social support.

This cross-sectional study involves a sample of 250 older community-dwelling adults. The questionnaire comprised sociodemographic, companion animals and social media questions and scales to assess social isolation, loneliness, satisfaction with life and social support and depression. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Four groups emerged: “companion animal/s, no social media” (37.6%); “none” (33.6%); “social media and companion animal/s” (14.4%); and “social media, no companion animal/s” (14.4%). Social media users (with or without companion animals) are the youngest and with higher levels of education; caregivers of companion animals (no social media use) are in-between in terms of age and level of education; and those without companion animals and no social media users are the oldest and with less formal education.

This research examines and compares two key influencers of older adults’ well-being and social interaction (social media and companion animals), that have been researched mostly separately. Findings underlined the cohort effect in the use of social media, suggesting that future older adult cohorts will use more social media whether they have or do not have companion animals.

The presented research is carried out in reaction to the soaring costs of fuel and tight control over environmental issues such as carbon dioxide emissions and noise. The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of applying the environmental-friendly energy source in an unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) propulsion system.

Currently, the majority of UAVs are still powered by conventional combustion engines. An electric propulsion system is most commonly found in civilian micro and mini UAVs. The UAV classification is reviewed in this study. This paper focuses mainly on application of electric propulsion systems in UAVs. Investigated hybrid energy systems consist of fuel cells, Li-ion batteries, super-capacitors and photovoltaic (PV) modules. Current applications of fuel cell systems in UAVs are also presented.

The conducted research shows that hybridization allows for better energy management and operation of every energy source onboard the UAV within its limits. The hybrid energy system design should be created to maximize system efficiency without compromising the performance of the aircraft.

The presented study highlights the reduction of the energy consumption, necessary to perform the mission and maximizing of the endurance with simultaneous decrease in emissions and noise level.

The conducted research studies the feasibility of implementing the environmental-friendly hybrid electric propulsion systems in UAVs that offers high efficiency, reliability, controllability, lack of thermal and noise signature, thus, providing quiet and clean drive with low vibration levels. This paper highlights the main challenges and current research on fuel cell in aviation and draws attention to fuel cell – electric system modeling, hybridization and energy management.