New Test Method for Evaluating Aerial Response Robot Capabilities: Maneuvering: Fly Through Confined Spaces
1. Scope
This test method evaluates sUAS capability to maneuver through environments wherein the boundaries of the space pose continuous constraints on horizontal and/or vertical movement and hazards for potential collision through a series of confined space profiles with variable environmental properties. The operator commands the sUAS to navigate through a confined space that either exists already in a real-world environment (e.g., a hallway or stairwell in a building) or a fabricated apparatus that matches the relevant dimensions and shapes for each type of confined space. Four types of confined spaces are defined for navigation tests, each of which require horizontal and/or vertical traversal through spaces that are horizontally and/or vertically confined: hallway, tunnel, stairwell/incline, and shaft. Navigation is performed multiple times to establish statistical significance and the associated probability of success and confidence levels based on the number of successes and failures. For each trial, the sUAS begins from a starting location that requires it to traverse in a direction not parallel to the navigation route through the confined space, which may also require it to turn. Similarly, the end location for each trial also requires the sUAS to traverse in a direction not parallel to the navigation route. More simply, a single trial constitutes the sUAS traversing from the A side of the apparatus to the B side, navigating through the confined space, then traversing back over to the A side.
Keywords
small unmanned aerial system; suas; maneuvering; navigation; gps-denied
Rationale
No existing standard exists for evaluating the ability of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS; or aerial response robots) to maneuver indoors through confined spaces, despite military and public safety utilizing these systems for such purposes.
