Identify Resources to be Used in the Literature Review

III

Abstract

Scholar: Henry Vascones

Title: Exploring the Effectiveness of the MQ-8B Fire Scout to provision Humanitarian Efforts Post Natural Disasters

Institution: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Degree: Master of Science in Aeronautics

Year: 2020

This study will explore the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been increasingly used for providing humanitarian aid during natural disasters. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout in providing humanitarian aid after natural disasters have occurred. The ability to utilize the MQ-8B will be analyzed by determining their ability to conduct humanitarian in areas affected by natural disasters and are largely inaccessible using the existing traditional methods. The viability of using UAVs in such operations in terms of abilities and costs will be compared to using response utility trucks. The study will determine the viability of using UAVs in responding to natural disasters while at the same time providing economic benefits. The use of UAVs will be compared to existing response approaches such as the use of emergency response utility vehicles and manned flight. The study will also develop a model to show the costs and benefits of utilizing MQ-8B in responding to natural disasters. A quantitative approach will be used to collect data from existing literature. Information will be obtained from various sources including the Insurance Information Institute, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Transportation Research Board on UAVs and manned systems to help come up with a solution to these problems

IV

Table of Contents

Page

Graduate Capstone Project Committee…………………………….………………………………………ii Acknowledgements………………………………………….…………………………………………….iii Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………iv Chapter I Introduction 1 Significance of the study 2 Statement of the Problem 2 Purpose Statement 3 Research Question and Hypothesis 3 Delimitations 4 Limitations and Assumptions 4 List of Acronyms 5 II Review of Relevant Literature 6 Origins of UAV and its Applications 6 Cargo Delivery with UAVs 7 Impacts of Weather 8 Operational Flexibility of UAVs 9 UAV legislation and regulation Environment 10 Human Factors 11 Sensing and Processing 12 Mobile Wireless Access Networks 13 Safety of UAVs 13 Summary 14 References 16

Chapter 1

Natural disasters can cause significantly damage to transportation infrastructure including railways and roads. In addition, barrier lakes and landslides pose a serious threat to property and life in areas affected. When infrastructure is interfered with, heavy rescue equipment, rescue vehicles, suppliers and rescue teams face challenges to reach disaster-hit areas. As a result, efforts to provide humanitarian aid is hampered (Tatsidou et al., 2019). The traditional approaches of responding to natural disasters are unable to meet the requirements to support the process of disaster decision making. UAVs are well equipped to navigate areas affected by natural disasters and provide humanitarian aid.

This study aims to explore the viability of using the MQ-8B fire scout in providing humanitarian aid in areas affected by natural disasters. The document will also provide a literature review on the use of UAVs in providing humanitarian aids whenever such events occur. The study will also compare the viability of using MQ-8B to MH-60 in conducting rescue operations in area affected by disasters. The study will mainly focus on Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout which has an impressive record in conducting such missions.

Significance of the Study

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to address the loss of life during natural disasters by evaluating how UAVs can be used to provide humanitarian aid in such situations. There are many people who have lost their lives due to a lack of effective approaches to providing humanitarian aid. One of the most notable cases is the earthquake that occurred in Haiti claiming more than 160,000 lives in 2010. Another notable case is the Indian Ocean tsunami that occurred in 2004 and claimed the lives of more than 360,000 people and left about 1,300,000 others displaced (Petrides et al., 2017). There were significant efforts to provide humanitarian aid in both cases but the destruction of infrastructure made it difficult to rescue people in the affected areas.

Different governmental and non-governmental organizations provided significant resources for the rescue and recovery mission. However, the nature of railroads and roads has made it impossible for response vehicles to reach the affected areas. Supplies could only reach a few people who were far away from the epicenter of the disaster. This shows the inefficiency associated with traditional methods of providing humanitarian aid in such situations. As a result, a more robust approach to responding to natural disasters need to be developed to avoid losing lives in the future. UAVs can be used to solve the problem and help response teams provide humanitarian help to affected areas in a cost-effective and timely manner.

The study aims to explore the effectiveness of using the MQ-8B Fire Scout in providing humanitarian aid in disaster-hit locations. The study will be written from the perspective that the use of traditional methods to provide rescue operations has been largely ineffective. The paper will also compare the viability of using MQ-8B to MH-60 in such operations.

This study will to answer the following research questions (RQ):

RQ1: Is the deployment of the MQ-8B Fire Scout more expedient and cost-effective to delivering humanitarian aid compared to using the MH-60 Sea Hawk?

RQ2: What are the advantages and disadvantages that could be associated with the use of the MQ-8B Fire Scout for identifying victims, water drops for wildfire hotspots, and first aid drops for survivors post-natural disaster?

The following hypothesis (H) has been formulated for the study:

H0: There is no statistical difference in safety when using the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout when compared to the MH-60 Sea Hawk to provision humanitarian aid in areas affected by a disaster.

H1: There is a statistical difference in safety when using the Northrop Grumman MQ-8B Fire Scout when compared to the MH-60 Sea Hawk to provision humanitarian aid in areas affected by a disaster.

This study will only focus on how UAV can be used in rescue operations to provide humanitarian aid to individuals in areas affected by natural disasters. As a result, the study will not provide a description of how the UAVs can be used in reconnaissance missions mostly conducted by military personnel. The study will also not describe how UAVs can be used to monitor riparian areas and pollution in marine areas.

One of the major limitations of the research is that there are significant costs associated with the use of UAVs and more so with the MQ-8B fire scout. Various UAVs are needed to be purchased to facilitate this study. However, due to their high costs, the researchers settled to less efficient UAVs that could not provide very accurate information. The physical demand of the terrain, variation in weather conditions and less optimal use of machine tools are some of the other factors that affected the study. These factors have a significant impact on situational awareness and affect how data is interpreted from UAVs. The UAVs used in the study had shorter ranges and therefore could not conduct a lot of information as expected. Another key limitation of this study is observer bias that could have compromised the results.

FAA- Federal Aviation Administration

H- Hypothesis

RQ- research question

SAR-synthetic Aperture Radar

UAVs- Unmanned aerial vehicles

Providing humanitarian aid for people affected by natural disasters has become an issue of major concern not only to governments but also to other non-governmental organizations. Destruction of existing infrastructure by natural disasters has increased public interest in the development of effective tools to provide humanitarian aid to disaster-hit areas. According to (Macias, Angeloudis & Ochieng, 2018), unmanned aerial vehicles are the logical choice for providing responding to natural disasters. A review of relevant research will be conducted in this chapter to determine the underlying knowledge of the effectiveness of UAVs in providing humanitarian aids. This review will also delineate factors that may affect the optimum use of UAVs in areas affected by natural disasters.

Origins of UAV and its Applications

The first UAV was developed in World War I under the concept of cruise missiles to attack enemies from short distances. The first UAV was a wooden biplane with a range of 75 miles. This technology was focused on attacking a specific location with zero chance of return. However, by the 1850s the United States Air Force was able to develop a UAV that was able to return after attacking a particular point. During the World War II, the American soldiers were able to use UAVs to spy on their enemies. In the late 1960s, the United States Air Force engineers embarked on developing UAVs with better electric systems to observe activities of their enemies with better precision (Tatsidou et al., 2019).

The significant technological developments since that time have led to improved UAVs that can take part in more delicate and complex missions. The use of advanced electronic controlling systems, better radio systems, high-resolution digital cameras, sophisticated computers, and advanced global positing systems (GPS) allow AUVs to conduct recovery missions effectively during natural disasters. The quality of UAVs has significantly grown in the 2000s. UAVs are now used not only used by the military by private firms and individual owner operators. Their performance of modern UAVs allows them to provide humanitarian aid in areas that have been affected by disasters.

Multiple studies show that UAVs are very effective in delivering items to areas that have poor transportation infrastructure. From delivering important supplies to monitoring damage by the use of cameras, UAVs could play a significant role in providing humanitarian aid. When compared to traditional vehicles, UAVs are more sophisticated thanks to their improved flexibility and ease of use. It is more effective and safer to use a UAV to deliver suppliers in dangerous locations that sending a human being. However, they are unable to carry an excessively heavy load as a result of their size and mostly drop cargo on their way (D'Amato, Notaro & Mattei, 2018).

Impacts of Weather

The impact of weather on UAVs depends on the power, equipment, configuration, and size of the UAV as well as the exposure time and the severity of the weather being encountered. Most UAVs have characteristics and configurations which make them more vulnerable to extreme weather conditions compared to manned aircraft. In general, today's UAVs are more fragile, lighter and slower as well as more sensitive to weather conditions when compared to manned aircraft. Small UAVs are very susceptible to extreme weather conditions. Similar to manned aircraft, larger UAVs can also be affected by certain weather conditions that can make them difficult to control them.

Extreme weather conditions such as snow, humidity, temperature extremes, solar storms, rain, turbulence, and wind may diminish the aerodynamic performance of UAVs, cause loss of communication and control as well as negatively affect the operator. Most flight regulations that are being used at the moment do not address most of the weather hazards facing UAVs. Some of the current restrictions pertaining to weather include remaining 2000 feet away from ceiling and 500 feet below clouds, operating under the unaided visual line and maintaining visibility for 4.83km (Macias, Angeloudis & Ochieng, 2018). While this eliminates issues of poor visibility, it does not help to reduce safety hazards associated with clear skies. These hazards may include turbulence, glare, and wind.

Turbulence can also affect the stability of UAVs. Multiple studies show that wind accounted for more than 50% of manned aircrafts accidents. This percentage is also higher for small aircraft. This shows the impacts that turbulence may have on small unmanned vehicles. The primary ways wind affects UAVs includes reducing endurance, limiting control, and changing flight trajectory. Strong wind affects the path of a UAV. Wind speeds may also surpass the maximum speed of UAVs making them struggle in such environments. The impact of turbulence could make it difficult for the UAVs to deliver humanitarian aid to affected areas in a timely manner.

Turbulence, wind gusts, and wind shear all have the potential of affecting Control of UAV. UAV control is the ability to maneuver the UAV by use of roll, pitch, and yaw. Pitch changes the attack angle for the UAV, roll rotates the UAV, and yaw changes the direction of the UAV. This affects how the operator controls the UAV. When the speed of the wind increases suddenly, the yaw of the UAV is affected making it difficult for the operator to control it effectively. A horizontal gust can also roll the UAV and is most dangerous especially when it if flying in areas with obstructions.

Operational Flexibility of UAVs

UAVs have increased persistence in air operations compared to manned systems making them ideal for conducting humanitarian aid operations. While there are theoretical and practical limits, utilizing few vehicles allows for continuous surveillance for a long period of time. Their flexibility allows them to carry out operations when and where other manned aircraft are unable to operate. The long-endurance capabilities of these vehicles allow them to deliver humanitarian aid many hours into a flight which could otherwise be impossible with the traditional

approaches. As a result, people in areas experiencing natural disasters may receive supplies continuously.

While both unmanned and manned air operations can be coordinated by multiple people, not having a physical operator in the vehicle allows multiple operators to share direct controls. The user with the most immediate need or situational awareness may assume the full control of the UAV. This capability significantly reduces the timelines of coordination between the UAV and ground users. The dire need associated with response missions, UAVs are better suited to provide humanitarian aid when compared to the traditional methods which normally takes a significant amount of time to reach those affected.

The ability to use UAVs for disaster response in the United States is largely limited by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The current FAA policy for operating unmanned aerial vehicles in the United States requires specific authority to operate one. In general, any use of UAV requires airworthiness certification. However, potential users of UAVs face significant regulatory challenges in the United States. The law requires UAVs to include registration numbers in their markings. Operation circular 91-57 describes the differences between non-hobby use and hobby use of UAVs and operating restrictions. The FAA has implemented various orders to restrict the operation of UAVs.

In most cases, designers develop controls that work very well in labs but fail in a real-world situation. The expectation is through training and familiarization humans will be able to learn and adapt to the controls and displays. However, this approach is deemed to fail if used in the development of a human-machine interface. As the capabilities of UAVs increases each and every day, their complexity has also increased. The need to use automation and advanced technology also increases. While these systems are unmanned, it is important to keep in mind that humans are involved in the control and operation of UAVs (Hildmann & Kovacs, 2019).

The lack of standardization across different UAV human-machine interfaces results in an increased time of training for one system and increased difficulty in transition to other systems. Poor optimization of information results in the difficulty of interpreting system information needed for situational awareness and support decision making in stressful situations. Lack of adaptability and flexibility in UAVs often lead to poor displays and ultimately to poor situational awareness. Lack of basic sensory cues makes it even more difficult to use UAVs in response missions. The cues which are relevant in manned aircraft suddenly become irrelevant in UAVs (Estrada & Ndoma, 2019). These cues are currently missing in UAVs and need to be incorporated for increased efficiency.

Sensing and Processing

The success of providing humanitarian aid to areas affected by natural disasters depends on the equipment having with the appropriate sensors, at the right place and at the right time. This is important particularly in response situations where emergency signals, remoteness, weather, and terrain differ significantly. Even if the UAV is at the right place at the right time, it will be rendered ineffective without the right sensors. The initial phase of a rescue mission is very critical and requires UAVs to have appropriate sensors. Various sensors may be used in a single UAV to allow it to come up with a general picture of the situation (Grogan, Pellerin & Gamache, 2018).

Since the strength of signals are inversely proportional to the square of the distance, unmanned aerial vehicles designed to provide humanitarian aid in areas experiencing natural disasters need to have stronger signals than ground station receivers and satellites. The signal can be triangulated by multiple UAVs if sent in a digital format. In cases where ELTs are not transmitting or activated, infrared sensors can be used to search the location of the UAV. Fortunately, sensors in the infrared and low light wavelength have significantly decreased physical dimensions and costs. Onboard automation will be very important for effective UAV operations in extreme conditions.

Compared to traditional static sensors, UAVs are still more costly. Considering that the infrastructure needed to respond to such cases is currently being met by the existing infrastructure, it is justified that most studies focus on the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster. UAVs can be used to develop a communication center to provide victims in an affected area with wireless communication. UAVs can allow people trapped in areas affected by natural calamities to communicate with the emergency control center for rescue (Grogan, Pellerin & Gamache, 2018). One of the benefits of such a system is that it serves those only in the affected location and this can maximize performance.

The use of UAVs in rescue operations depends on their ability to safely operate in the shared aviation environment. As a result, UAVs must demonstrate that they can ensure safety both for people on the ground and other aircraft. However, there are various safety risks associated with UAVs which are different from those presented by manned vehicles. UAVs do not have occupants and therefore the risk of pilots losing their lives in flight is eliminated. The use of manned vehicles, on the other hand, implies that people will need to use vehicles to get to areas that have been affected by natural disasters. As a result, the livers of the rescue teams are at risk (Estrada & Ndoma, 2019).

UAVs use the same airspace used by other aircraft. As a result, there are high chances of collision in the airspace. Numerous studies by research institutions, universities, industry, and governments across the world have focused on how collision can be avoided in the airspace. While avoiding collisions is a difficult task, the UAV community has developed to see and avoid capabilities that allows them to avoid obstructions. The distance of detecting obstructions has been clearly provided by the FAA regulations. The FAA calls for operators to maintain vigilance to detect and avoid collisions with obstructions while flying UAVs.

Summary

Most of the studies explore the effectiveness of using UAVs in conducting reconnaissance missions. However, there is a gap in research focused on the effectiveness of using UAVs to provide humanitarian aid during and after natural disasters. Also, there is limited research in comparing the effectiveness of using UAVs to conducts rescue and recovery missions as compared to the use of manned vehicles. There is also limited research focused on determining the costs and benefits of utilizing emergency response vehicles and UAVs in responding to natural disasters

This study will determine the resourcefulness of using UAVs in responding to natural disasters while at the same time providing economic benefits. The study will help in developing new knowledge and bridge the existing gap in providing humanitarian aid using UAVs. The findings of this study will increase knowledge on the effectiveness of UAVs in responding to natural disasters and provide more insights on ways that can be used to respond to affected areas. Ultimately, these insights could help develop more knowledge about the fate associated with rescue operations. The findings of this study can be used as the basis for future studies by researchers interested in this topic.

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