Source: PARALLEL FLIGHT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. submitted to NRP
REDUCING WILDFIRE RISK WITH LARGE SCALE PRESCRIBED FIRE DRONES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
SMALL BUSINESS GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1022879
Grant No.
2020-33610-31975
Cumulative Award Amt.
$100,000.00
Proposal No.
2020-00688
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2020
Project End Date
Apr 30, 2021
Grant Year
2020
Program Code
[8.1]- Forests & Related Resources
Recipient Organization
PARALLEL FLIGHT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
450 MCQUAIDE DRIVE
WATSONVILLE,CA 950761921
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This proposal is for research related to the development of a large, unmanned, incendiary load system for igniting prescribed burns. This proposal responds to the USDA NIFA SBIR priority 6 "Developing Technology that Facilitates the Management of Wildfires on Forest Lands." Aerial ignition systems for prescribed burns are a critical tool for managing fuel loads as well as for fighting wildfires. Prescribed burns are a vital tool for both land management and active firefighting. The US spends $500M on prescribed burns each year. Aerial ignition for prescribed burns performed with helicopters is an expensive operation that costs thousands of dollarsper hour. Moreover, helicopter aerial ignition is a very dangerous operation, underscored by the recent fatality of a firefighter who died in a helicopter crash in Texas while performing an aerial ignition operation.This proposal aims to provide a safer alternative with significant cost savings for stakeholders. The objective of this Phase 1 proposal is to study the feasibility of a large-scale prescribed fire drone based on a new, heavy-lift, parallel hybrid UAS being developed by Parallel Flight Technologies and the Plastic Sphere Dispenser (PSD) technology developed by Drone Amplified. Fundamental research into the applicability of the parallel hybrid system in the prescribed fire mission is required before developing a full solution. Also, studying the unique vibration characteristics of the parallel hybrid airframe and its interaction with a future, large PSD system from Drone Amplified is required before developing and integrating the systems.The effort will focus on characterizing airframe/payload vibration isolation, flight dynamics testing with representative payloads in prescribed burn environments, sensor and gimbal vibration mitigation, PSD drop dynamics testing from the Parallel UAS, and development of terrain follow capability for the Parallel UAS. The anticipated result is validation that a large unmanned system for prescribed burns can be developed based on the parallel hybrid UAS technology and the PSD technology developed by Drone Amplified. A Phase II grant would then provide the resources needed to begin building a full solution for market.The commercial applications for the technology are safer and lower cost prescribed burns for land management as well as controlled ignition as a tool for active wildfire suppression.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
25%
Applied
25%
Developmental
50%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
12272102020100%
Knowledge Area
122 - Management and Control of Forest and Range Fires;

Subject Of Investigation
7210 - Remote sensing equipment and technology;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
This SBIR Phase 1 will establish the feasibility for an unmanned, heavy lift, long duration, prescribed burn UAS.Vibration: One set of questions revolves around the increased vibration induced by the Parallel system. Drone Amplified has demonstrated a small PSD solution around an all-electric multicopter system. The Parallel hybrid system has significantly more vibration, so understanding these vibration levels, their effect on the PSD system, and mitigating them are important technical objectives. Vibration also has an effect on the sensors required for the prescribed burn operation. Initial R&D around vibration isolation for these sensors is another technical objective. The required sensors will have rated vibration requirements that we can use to evaluate the effectiveness of the isolation solutions we develop. We plan to mount the IGNIS system to our prototype aircraft, run the Hybrid Power Modules through a full sweep of RPM ranges, record vibration data on the IGNIS system, and test for functionality of plastic sphere dropping.Flight Dynamics: Flight dynamics in relevant weather conditions represents another set of unknowns. During a wildland fire there are updrafts, downdrafts, and rapidly shifting winds. Quantifying the maneuvering capability of the Parallel UAS when loaded with the DA PSD system is critical for establishing the flight envelope of the integrated system. During PSD drop missions the payload mass will vary. This, in turn, will cause flight dynamics variations. Understanding these variations and testing strategies to handle them in an important technical objective. An analysis of the varying payload and CGwill be conducted in a high fidelity simulator. A study of the wind, temperature, and other environmental factors during relevant fire conditions be performed.Smoke andheat effects on the Parallel Hybrid Drive system and the IGNIS system will be performed on a ground-based test stand.Beyond aircraft flight dynamics, there are also unknowns surrounding the effect of the downwash generated by the large Parallel UAS on the PSD ball as it falls away from the aircraft. Flight speeds, winds, and altitude all have an effect on PSD dropping accuracy. With the potential to fly faster and at higher altitudes to maintain line of sight for radio communications, it is necessary to study these effects on drop accuracy. We will characterize the downwash and the effect on PSD dropping accuracy.SensorsCommodity cameras will be mounted and instrumented for shock and vibration. Testing will provide input to future development of suitable vibration isolation systems.Terrain Following: Another critical function of the Parallel UAS in the controlled ignition application is the ability to follow terrain at preset altitude along a flightpath. This function allows the plastic spheres to land accurately along the programmed burn path. This function needs to be developed and tested on the Parallel UAS system. The PixHawk flight controller used by the Parallel UAS has a built-in terrain following function which relies on stored terrain data. Understanding the variables that determine the effectiveness of this function and understanding its limitations is crucial research for Phase 1. Results will also inform whether an additional sensor is required to sense altitude above ground. These tests will be performed using the Parallel flight contoller on a test UAS.
Project Methods
The methods for each research section is outlined below:Load vibration isolator development and testingCharacterize airframe vibe at hardpointsSelect preliminary vibe isolatorsPrototype mounting systemMount vibration sensorsOperate Parallel Hybrid prototype with IGNIS system mountedRecord vibration dataAnalyze DataFlight dynamics testingDevelop simulator inputs from IGNIS system (mass, CG, change in mass during firing operation)Run simulator with inputs. (Note - the PFT simulator is being developed separately from this SBIR P1)Develop environmental data from relevant fire conditionsTest smoke and heat effects on Parallel Hybrid UAS and IGNIS systemRecord and reduce dataFire PSD while mounted on running Parallel Hybrid UAS and study drop acuracy effectsCharacterizedownwash effects on ball accuracySensor mockup and testingLow cost cameras will be mounted on Parallel Hybrid aircraftVibration through mounts will be characterizedData will be used in the future for the development of sensor mountsTerrain follow testingFly model UAS system using Parallel Hybrid flight controller in terrain follow modeIdentify any issuesIterate as needed

Progress 09/01/20 to 04/30/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience includes USDA technical personnel and potential commercial and academic customers and partners. The progress of our work has been communicated and demonstrated to members of this audience and has resulted in enhanced interest in our anticipated solution. We now have more than 20 Letters of Interest from potential customers and numerous invitations from strategic partners to further develop our solution. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results have been communicated to USDA technical personnel through the interim and final technical reports, along with informal emails when PFT was very happy with results. Results and milestone achievements have been communicated to potential customers and strategic partners through PFT's listserv update emails. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?All Phase 1 milestones have been achieved. The research thus far indicates that a large-scale prescribed fire UAS based on parallel hybrid technology will have 10X the payload carrying capacity of the existing solution as well as 10X the flight duration, and will result in more acres managed by prescribed fire at a lower cost, increased safety for personnel, and more effective prescribed fire during active wildfires. A Phase 2 proposal has been submitted in the hopes that we'll receive funding to continue the R&D work with the aim of completing a successful beta prototype for real environment testing and demonstration for USDA and potential customers.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The results of the research indicate no fundamental issues on any of the key metrics related to implementing a PSD system on the Parallel Flight UAS. We have successfully demonstrated a working integration of the DA IGNIS system on our fullscale "mule" platform, observed acceptable levels of scatter of the spheres, and have not encountered any vibration or mission environment related problems. Measurement of vibration at payload mounting points indicates that levels are within acceptable limits for the payload. Our testing indicates that hard-mounting the future IGNIS MAX payload to the airframe will be acceptable. The IR video was very stable and showed no adverse effects from vibration. The visible spectrum video, however, showed some aliasing due to vibration, and will be improved with further isolation. Flight dynamics were acceptable and no adverse aerodynamic effects were observed. Hybrid power modules successfully passed smoke ingestion testing in a smoke filled testing chamber with no deviation from initial RPM in normal conditions. Thermal testing indicates that operations in 48.9 deg C (120 deg F) will be feasible at absolute maximum power. Terrain following was validated in simulation using a Ground Control Station concluding that terrain following will be easily achievable in real-world scenarios. The results of the drop accuracy test showed that the increased downwash of the full-scale aircraft caused no significant scattering of the incendiary payload. In fact, our parallel system has a slightly higher drop accuracy compared to the current solution. Testing of fuel consumption and hybrid engine performance on Parallel Flight's beta level aircraft indicates flight times around 2.5 hours when fully loaded with 100 lb payload. The combined performance gain of carrying 100 lb of payload with a flight time of 2.5 hrs, is roughly a 10X gain in payload and 10X gain in duration against the current technology solution. This will result in 10X the acreage burned during prescribed fire missions, and the ability to put fire down at a great distance from the mission base. The technology will also enable rapid turnaround of the aircraft without the need to recharge batteries or carry battery charging infrastructure into the field. Testing shows a land, disarm, and refueling time of 5 minutes.

Publications


    Progress 09/01/20 to 04/30/21

    Outputs
    Target Audience:Our target audience includes USDA technical personnel and potential commercial and academic customers and partners. The progress of our work has been communicated and demonstrated to members of this audience and has resulted in enhanced interest in our anticipated solution. We now have more than 20 Letters of Interest from potential customers and numerous invitations from strategic partners to further develop our solution. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Successful results have been communicated to USDA technical personnel through the interim and final technical reports, along with informal emails when PFT was very happy with results. Successful results and milestone achievements have been communicated to potential customers and strategic partners through PFT's listserv update emails. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?All Phase 1 milestones have been achieved. The research thus far indicates that a large-scale prescribed fire UAS based on parallel hybrid technology will have 10X the payload carrying capacity of the existing solution as well as 10X the flight duration, and will result in more acres managed by prescribed fire at a lower cost, increased safety for personnel, and more effective prescribed fire during active wildfires.

    Impacts
    What was accomplished under these goals? The results of the research indicate no fundamental issues on any of the key metrics related to implementing a PSD system on the Parallel Flight UAS. We have successfully demonstrated a working integration of the DA IGNIS system on our full-scale "mule" platform, observed acceptable levels of scatter of the spheres, and have not encountered any vibration or mission environment related problems. Measurement of vibration at payload mounting points indicates that levels are within acceptable limits for the payload. Our testing indicates that hard-mounting the future IGNIS MAX payload to the airframe will be acceptable. The IR video was very stable and showed no adverse effects from vibration. The visible spectrum video, however, showed some aliasing due to vibration, and will be improved with further isolation. Flight dynamics were acceptable and no adverse aerodynamic effects were observed. Hybrid power modules successfully passed smoke ingestion testing in a smoke filled testing chamber with no deviation from initial RPM in normal conditions. Thermal testing indicates that operations in 48.9 deg C (120 deg F) will be feasible at absolute maximum power. Terrain following was validated in simulation using a Ground Control Station concluding that terrain following will be easily achievable in real-world scenarios. The results of the drop accuracy test showed that the increased downwash of the full-scale aircraft caused no significant scattering of the incendiary payload. In fact, our parallel system has a slightly higher drop accuracy compared to the current solution. Testing of fuel consumption and hybrid engine performance on Parallel Flight's beta level aircraft indicates flight times around 2.5 hours when fully loaded with 100 lb payload. The combined performance gain of carrying 100 lb of payload with a flight time of 2.5 hrs, is roughly a 10X gain in payload and 10X gain in duration against the current technology solution. This will result in 10X the acreage burned during prescribed fire missions, and the ability to put fire down at a great distance from the mission base. The technology will also enable rapid turnaround of the aircraft without the need to recharge batteries or carry battery charging infrastructure into the field. Testing shows a land, disarm, and refueling time of 5 minutes.

    Publications