Destination Area: Intelligent Infrastructure for Human-Centered Communities (IIHCC)
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IIHCC focuses its attention on the ways that people interact with one another and with their environment. Interest areas in this DA include smart, healthy, and sustainable cities and communities; transportation systems; human safety, health, and wellness; integrated energy systems; network science and engineering; public policy; and cyber-physical systems. The initial focus for IIHCC will be on four themes:
Ubiquitous Mobility: The location-agnostic promise of new communication and information technologies
Automated Vehicle Systems: vehicles that can transit safely and efficiently through our communities independent of a human operator
Smart Design and Construction: an intelligent, integrated, adaptable, responsive, and sustainable human-centric built environment
Energy: the underlying innovations that will be required in the production, distribution, and consumption of energy to realize such a system
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Browsing Destination Area: Intelligent Infrastructure for Human-Centered Communities (IIHCC) by Content Type "Article - Refereed"
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- 3D printed graphene-based self-powered strain sensors for smart tires in autonomous vehiclesMaurya, Deepam; Khaleghian, Seyedmeysam; Sriramdas, Rammohan; Kumar, Prashant; Kishore, Ravi Anant; Kang, Min-Gyu; Kumar, Vireshwar; Song, Hyun-Cheol; Lee, Seul-Yi; Yan, Yongke; Park, Jung-Min (Jerry); Taheri, Saied; Priya, Shashank (2020-10-26)The transition of autonomous vehicles into fleets requires an advanced control system design that relies on continuous feedback from the tires. Smart tires enable continuous monitoring of dynamic parameters by combining strain sensing with traditional tire functions. Here, we provide breakthrough in this direction by demonstrating tire-integrated system that combines direct mask-less 3D printed strain gauges, flexible piezoelectric energy harvester for powering the sensors and secure wireless data transfer electronics, and machine learning for predictive data analysis. Ink of graphene based material was designed to directly print strain sensor for measuring tire-road interactions under varying driving speeds, normal load, and tire pressure. A secure wireless data transfer hardware powered by a piezoelectric patch is implemented to demonstrate self-powered sensing and wireless communication capability. Combined, this study significantly advances the design and fabrication of cost-effective smart tires by demonstrating practical self-powered wireless strain sensing capability. Designing efficient sensors for smart tires for autonomous vehicles remains a challenge. Here, the authors present a tire-integrated system that combines direct mask-less 3D printed strain gauges, flexible piezoelectric energy harvester for powering the sensors and secure wireless data transfer electronics, and machine learning for predictive data analysis.
- Ambient ammonia synthesis via palladium-catalyzed electrohydrogenation of dinitrogen at low overpotentialWang, Jun; Yu, Liang; Hu, Lin; Chen, Gang; Xin, Hongliang; Feng, Xiaofeng (Springer Nature, 2018-05-15)Electrochemical reduction of N2 to NH3 provides an alternative to the Haber−Bosch process for sustainable, distributed production of NH3 when powered by renewable electricity. However, the development of such process has been impeded by the lack of efficient electrocatalysts for N2 reduction. Here we report efficient electroreduction of N2 to NH3 on palladium nanoparticles in phosphate buffer solution under ambient conditions, which exhibits high activity and selectivity with an NH3 yield rate of ~4.5 μg mg−1Pd h−1 and a Faradaic efficiency of 8.2% at 0.1 V vs. the reversible hydrogen electrode (corresponding to a low overpotential of 56 mV), outperforming other catalysts including gold and platinum. Density functional theory calculations suggest that the unique activity of palladium originates from its balanced hydrogen evolution activity and the Grotthuss-like hydride transfer mechanism on α-palladium hydride that lowers the free energy barrier of N2 hydrogenation to *N2H, the rate-limiting step for NH3 electrosynthesis.
- Bioinspired Tracking Control of High Speed Nonholonomic Ground VehiclesShoemaker, Adam; Leonessa, Alexander (Hindawi, 2015-10-04)The behavior of nature’s predators is considered for designing a high speed tracking controller for nonholonomic vehicles, whose dynamicsare represented using a unicycle model. To ensure that the vehicle behaves intuitively and mimics the biologically inspiredpredator-prey interaction, saturation constraints based on Ackermann steering kinematics are added. A new strategy for mapping commandsback into a viable envelope is introduced, and the restrictions are accounted for using Lyapunov stability criteria. Followingverification of the saturation constraints, the proposed algorithm was implemented on a testing platform. Stable trajectories of up to 9 m/swere achieved. The results presented show that the algorithm demonstrates significant promise in high speed trajectory tracking withobstacle avoidance.
- City-Wide Eco-Routing Navigation Considering Vehicular Communication ImpactsElbery, Ahmed; Rakha, Hesham A. (MDPI, 2019-01-12)Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITSs) utilize Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs) to collect, disseminate, and share data with the Traffic Management Center (TMC) and different actuators. Consequently, packet drop and delay in VANETs can significantly impact ITS performance. Feedback-based eco-routing (FB-ECO) is a promising ITS technology, which is expected to reduce vehicle fuel/energy consumption and pollutant emissions by routing drivers through the most environmentally friendly routes. To compute these routes, the FB-ECO utilizes VANET communication to update link costs in real-time, based on the experiences of other vehicles in the system. In this paper, we study the impact of vehicular communication on FB-ECO navigation performance in a large-scale real network with realistic calibrated traffic demand data. We conduct this study at different market penetration rates and different congestion levels. We start by conducting a sensitivity analysis of the market penetration rate on the FB-ECO system performance, and its network-wide impacts considering ideal communication. Subsequently, we study the impact of the communication network on system performance for different market penetration levels, considering the communication system. The results demonstrate that, for market penetration levels less than 30%, the eco-routing system performs adequately in both the ideal and realistic communication scenarios. It also shows that, for realistic communication, increasing the market penetration rate results in a network-wide degradation of the system performance.
- CU-BEMS, smart building electricity consumption and indoor environmental sensor datasetsPipattanasomporn, Manisa; Chitalia, Gopal; Songsiri, Jitkomut; Aswakul, Chaodit; Pora, Wanchalerm; Suwankawin, Surapong; Audomvongseree, Kulyos; Hoonchareon, Naebboon (2020-07-20)This paper describes the release of the detailed building operation data, including electricity consumption and indoor environmental measurements, of the seven-story 11,700-m(2) office building located in Bangkok, Thailand. The electricity consumption data (kW) are that of individual air conditioning units, lighting, and plug loads in each of the 33 zones of the building. The indoor environmental sensor data comprise temperature (degrees C), relative humidity (%), and ambient light (lux) measurements of the same zones. The entire datasets are available at one-minute intervals for the period of 18 months from July 1, 2018, to December 31, 2019. Such datasets can be used to support a wide range of applications, such as zone-level, floor-level, and building-level load forecasting, indoor thermal model development, validation of building simulation models, development of demand response algorithms by load type, anomaly detection methods, and reinforcement learning algorithms for control of multiple AC units.
- The Development and Field Evaluation of an IoT System of Low-Power Vibration for Bridge Health MonitoringTong, Xinlong; Yang, Hailu; Wang, Linbing; Miao, Yinghao (MDPI, 2019-03-11)Bridge safety is important for the safety of vehicles and pedestrians. This paper presents a study on the development of a low-power wireless acceleration sensor and deployment of the sensors on a wireless gateway and cloud platform following the Internet of Things (IoT) protocols for bridge monitoring. The entire system was validated in a field test on the Chijing bridge in Shanghai. Field evaluations indicated that the developed IoT bridge monitoring system could achieve the functions of real-time data acquisition, transmission, storage and analytical processing to synthesize safety information of the bridge. The demonstrated system was promising as a complete, practical, readily available, low-cost IoT system for bridge health monitoring.
- Effectiveness and Acceptance of Adaptive Intelligent Speed Adaptation SystemsArhin, Stephen; Eskandarian, Azim; Blum, Jeremy; Delaigue, Pierre; Soudbakhsh, Damoon (The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2008)Intelligent speed adaptation (ISA) systems face significant consumer acceptance hurdles that limit the likelihood of widespread adoption, particularly in the United States. However, if these systems are designed as speed management systems rather than speed limiting systems, with adaptability to individual driving behavior, they may be more likely to meet with consumer acceptance. The results of a fixed-based driving simulator experiment that tested the acceptance and effectiveness of a new type of ISA, called an Advanced Vehicular Speed Adaptation System (AVSAS), are reported. The results of the experiment showed that AVSAS resulted in reductions in driver speeds across a range of roadway types. AVSAS is a speed management system that adapts to an individual driver’s speed behavior and the current driving situation. AVSAS resulted in an average reduction of 5% of the maximum speeds and 3% of the average speeds of the drivers on four road segments. As expected, AVSAS did not reduce driver speeds as much as the mandatory control ISA system, and the experiment confirmed the results of tests conducted on ISA systems largely in Europe. Conversely, the results revealed that more participants were willing to purchase AVSAS compared with the information or mandatory ISAs. Although these results show the promise of a trade-off between system effectiveness and acceptability that has been missing in mandatory and information ISA research, AVSAS suggests that a range of ISA system design requirements could encourage the adoption of ISA systems in the United States.
- Effects of Producer and Transmission Reliability on the Sustainability Assessment of Power System NetworksVargas-Jaramillo, Jose R.; Montanez-Barrera, Jhon A.; von Spakovsky, Michael R.; Mili, Lamine M.; Cano-Andrade, Sergio (MDPI, 2019-02-10)Details are presented of the development and incorporation of a generation and transmission reliability approach in an upper-level sustainability assessment framework for power system planning. This application represents a quasi-stationary, multiobjective optimization problem with nonlinear constraints, load uncertainties, stochastic effects for renewable energy producers, and the propagation of uncertainties along the transmission lines. The Expected Energy Not Supplied (EENS) accounts for generation and transmission reliability and is based on a probabilistic as opposed to deterministic approach. The optimization is developed for three scenarios. The first excludes uncertainties in the load demand, while the second includes them. The third scenario accounts not only for these uncertainties, but also for the stochastic effects related to wind and photovoltaic producers. The sustainability-reliability approach is applied to the standard IEEE Reliability Test System. Results show that using a Mixture of Normals Approximation (MONA) for the EENS formulation makes the reliability analysis simpler, as well as possible within a large-scale optimization. In addition, results show that the inclusion of renewable energy producers has some positive impact on the optimal synthesis/design of power networks under sustainability considerations. Also shown is the negative impact of renewable energy producers on the reliability of the power network.
- An Empirical Study on the Energy Consumption in Residential Buildings after Adopting Green Building StandardsZhao, Dong; McCoy, Andrew P.; Du, Jing (Elsevier, 2016)In the past decades, a tremendous effort has been put into research and development of improved building systems and technologies to reduce the building energy consumption and advance energy efficiency. However, there is little to no published quantifiable evidence that assesses the energy consumption and efficiency for residential buildings with a context of green building standards. To fill this gap of information, this paper reports an empirical study that investigates the green home energy efficiency and its interaction with resident behaviors. This work uses an integrated approach of energy simulation and multivariate regression modeling. The data are from a sample of more than 300 residential units which meet the green building standards. Findings identify 43% of the annual reduction in energy usage and energy expenditures for a typical American home. Findings also identify four energy-consumption-related resident behaviors depending on which the actual energy efficiency performance of green building technology may differ.
- Evaluation of Resiliency of Transportation Networks After DisastersFreckleton, Derek; Heaslip, Kevin Patrick; Louisell, William; Collura, John (The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2012)The resiliency of infrastructure, particularly as related to transportation networks, is essential to any society. This resiliency is especially vital in the aftermath of disasters. Recent events around the globe, including Hurricane Katrina and significant seismic events in Haiti, Chile, and Japan, have increased the awareness and the importance of resiliency. Transportation systems are key to response and recovery. These systems must withstand stress, maintain baseline service levels, and be stout enough in physical design and operational concept to provide restoration to the system. Analysis of a transportation network’s resiliency before a disruptive event will help decision makers identify specific weaknesses within the network so that investments and improvement projects are prioritized appropriately. Previous research in quantification of network resiliency was expanded into a proposed methodology, through which understanding and applying concepts of network resiliency could preclude many devastating effects of destabilizing events and preserve the quality of life and economic stability.
- Floor Tile Energy Harvester for Self-Powered Wireless Occupancy SensingSharpes, Nathan; Vučković, Dušan; Priya, Shashank (De Gruyter, 2016)We investigate a concept that can reduce the overall power requirement of a smart building through improvements in the real-time control of HVAC and indoor lighting based on the building occupancy. The increased number of embedded sensors necessary to realize the smart building concept results in a complex wiring and power structure. We demonstrate a floor tile energy harvester for creating a wireless and self-powered occupancy sensor. This sensor termed as “Smart Tile Energy Production Technology (STEP Tech)” can be used to control automation in smart buildings such as lighting and climate control based upon the real-time building occupancy mapping. The sensor comprises of piezoelectric transducer, energy harvesting circuit and wireless communication. Modeling and optimization procedure for the piezoelectric cymbal transducer is described within the framework of tiles. The design and selection of a packaging technique and construction of a durable floor tile enclosure aimed at protecting the bulk piezoceramic is discussed within the constraint that the deflection of the tile should be minimal such that it is not readily perceivable by humans, thus not disturbing their gait. Experimental results demonstrate that the piezoelectric tile could provide a promising solution for wireless occupancy sensing.
- A Framework for Occupancy Tracking in a Building via Structural Dynamics Sensing of Footstep VibrationsPoston, Jeffrey D.; Buehrer, R. Michael; Tarazaga, Pablo Alberto (Frontiers, 2017-11-06)Counting the number of occupants in building areas over time—occupancy tracking— provides valuable information for responding to emergencies, optimizing thermal conditions or managing personnel. This capability is distinct from tracking individual building occupants as they move within a building, has lower complexity than conventional tracking algorithms require, and avoids privacy concerns that tracking individuals may pose. The approach proposed here is a novel combination of data analytics applied to measurements from a building’s structural dynamics sensors (e.g., accelerometers or geophones). Specifically, measurements of footstep-generated structural waves provide evidence of occupancy in a building area. These footstep vibrations can be distinguished from other vibrations, and, once identified, the footsteps can be located. These locations, in turn, form the starting point of estimating occupancy in an area. In order to provide a meaningful occupancy count, however, it is first necessary to associate discrete footsteps with individuals. The proposed framework incorporates a tractable algorithm for this association task. The proposed algorithms operate online, updating occupancy count over time as new footsteps are detected. Experiments with measurements from a public building illustrate the operation of the proposed framework. This approach offers an advantage over others based on conventional technologies by avoiding the cost of a separate sensor system devoted to occupancy tracking.
- A Fully-Distributed Heuristic Algorithm for Control of Autonomous Vehicle Movements at Isolated IntersectionsHassan, Abdallah A.; Rakha, Hesham A. (Elsevier, 2014)Optimizing autonomous vehicle movements through roadway intersections is a challenging problem. It has been demonstrated in the literature that traditional traffic control, such as traffic signal and stop sign control are not optimal especially for heavy traffic demand levels. Alternatively, centralized autonomous vehicle control strategies are costly and not scalable given that the ability of a central controller to track and schedule the movement of hundreds of vehicles in real-time is questionable. Consequently, in this paper a fully distributed algorithm is proposed where vehicles in the vicinity of an intersection continuously cooperate with each other to develop a schedule that allows them to safely proceed through the intersection while incurring minimum delay. Unlike other distributed approaches described in the literature, the wireless communication constraints are considered in the design of the control algorithm. Specifically, the proposed algorithm requires vehicles heading to an intersection to communicate only with neighboring vehicles, while the lead vehicles on each approach lane share information to develop a complete intersection utilization schedule. The scheduling rotates between vehicles to identify higher traffic volumes and favor vehicles coming from heavier lanes to minimize the overall intersection delay. The simulated experiments show significant reductions in the average delay using the proposed approach compared to other methods reported in the literature and reduction in the maximum delay experienced by a vehicle especially in cases of heavy traffic demand levels.
- Intercomparison of Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) Measurements for Atmospheric Science during the LAPSE-RATE CampaignBarbieri, Lindsay; Kral, Stephan T.; Bailey, Sean C. C.; Frazier, Amy E.; Jacob, Jamey D.; Reuder, Joachim; Brus, David; Chilson, Phillip B.; Crick, Christopher; Detweiler, Carrick; Doddi, Abhiram; Elston, Jack; Foroutan, Hosein; González-Rocha, Javier; Greene, Brian R.; Guzman, Marcelo I.; Houston, Adam L.; Islam, Ashraful; Kemppinen, Osku; Lawrence, Dale; Pillar-Little, Elizabeth A.; Ross, Shane D.; Sama, Michael P.; Schmale, David G. III; Schuyler, Travis J.; Shankar, Ajay; Smith, Suzanne W.; Waugh, Sean; Dixon, Cory; Borenstein, Steve; de Boer, Gijs (MDPI, 2019-05-10)Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are rapidly transforming atmospheric research. With the advancement of the development and application of these systems, improving knowledge of best practices for accurate measurement is critical for achieving scientific goals. We present results from an intercomparison of atmospheric measurement data from the Lower Atmospheric Process Studies at Elevation—a Remotely piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE) field campaign. We evaluate a total of 38 individual sUAS with 23 unique sensor and platform configurations using a meteorological tower for reference measurements. We assess precision, bias, and time response of sUAS measurements of temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and wind direction. Most sUAS measurements show broad agreement with the reference, particularly temperature and wind speed, with mean value differences of 1.6 ± 2.6 ∘ C and 0.22 ± 0.59 m/s for all sUAS, respectively. sUAS platform and sensor configurations were found to contribute significantly to measurement accuracy. Sensor configurations, which included proper aspiration and radiation shielding of sensors, were found to provide the most accurate thermodynamic measurements (temperature and relative humidity), whereas sonic anemometers on multirotor platforms provided the most accurate wind measurements (horizontal speed and direction). We contribute both a characterization and assessment of sUAS for measuring atmospheric parameters, and identify important challenges and opportunities for improving scientific measurements with sUAS.
- An Open Source Modeling Framework for Interdependent Energy-Transportation-Communication Infrastructure in Smart and Connected CommunitiesLu, Xing; Hinkelman, Kathryn; Fu, Yangyang; Wang, Jing; Zuo, Wangda; Zhang, Qianqian; Saad, Walid (IEEE, 2019)Infrastructure in future smart and connected communities is envisioned as an aggregate of public services, including energy, transportation, and communication systems, all intertwined with each other. The intrinsic interdependency among these systems may exert the underlying influence on both design and operation of the heterogeneous infrastructures. However, few prior studies have tapped into the interdependency among these systems in order to quantify their potential impacts during standard operation. In response to this, this paper proposes an open-source, flexible, integrated modeling framework suitable for designing coupled energy, transportation, and communication systems and for assessing the impact of their interdependencies. First, a novel multi-level, multi-layer, multi-agent approach is proposed to enable flexible modeling of the interconnected systems. Then, for the framework's proof of concept, preliminary component and system-level models for different systems are designed and implemented using Modelica, an equation-based object-oriented modeling language. Finally, three case studies of gradually increasing complexity are presented (energy, energy + transportation, and energy + transportation + communication) to evaluate the interdependencies among the three systems. Quantitative analyses show that the deviation of the average velocity on the road can be 10.5% and the deviation of the power drawn from the grid can be 7% with or without considering the transportation and communication system at the peak commute time, indicating the presence of notable interdependencies. The proposed modeling framework also has the potential to be further extended for various modeling purposes and use cases, such as dynamic modeling and optimization, resilience analysis, and integrated decision making in future connected communities.
- Optimize the Communication Cost of 5G Internet of Vehicles through Coherent Beamforming TechnologyWu, Lan; Xu, Juan; Shi, Lei; Shi, Yi; Zhou, Wenwen (Hindawi, 2021-05-17)Edge computing, which sinks a large number of complex calculations into edge servers, can effectively meet the requirement of low latency and bandwidth efficiency and can be conducive to the development of the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). However, a large number of edge servers mean a big cost, especially for the 5G scenario in IoV, because of the small coverage of 5G base stations. Fortunately, coherent beamforming (CB) technology enables fast and long-distance transmission, which gives us a possibility to reduce the number of 5G base stations without losing the whole network performance. In this paper, we try to adopt the CB technology on the IoV 5G scenario. We suppose we can arrange roadside nodes for helping transferring tasks of vehicles to the base station based on the CB technology. We first give the mathematical model and prove that it is a NP-hard model that cannot be solved directly. Therefore, we design a heuristic algorithm for an Iterative Coherent Beamforming Node Design (ICBND) algorithm to obtain the approximate optimal solution. Simulation results show that this algorithm can greatly reduce the cost of communication network infrastructure.
- The "Out-of-the-Loop" concept in automated driving: proposed definition, measures and implicationsMerat, Natasha; Seppelt, Bobbie; Louw, Tyron; Engström, Johan; Lee, John D.; Johansson, Emma; Green, Charles A.; Katazaki, Satoshi; Monk, Chris; Itoh, Makoto; McGehee, Daniel V.; Sunda, Takashi; Unoura, Kiyozumi; Victor, Trent; Schieben, Anna; Keinath, Andreas (Springer, 2019-02)Despite an abundant use of the term Out of the loop (OOTL) in the context of automated driving and human factors research, there is currently a lack of consensus on its precise definition, how it can be measured, and the practical implications of being in or out of the loop during automated driving. The main objective of this paper is to consider the above issues, with the goal of achieving a shared understanding of the OOTL concept between academics and practitioners. To this end, the paper reviews existing definitions of OOTL and outlines a set of concepts, which, based on the human factors and driver behaviour literature, could serve as the basis for a commonly-agreed definition. Following a series of working group meetings between representatives from academia, research institutions and industrial partners across Europe, North America, and Japan, we suggest a precise definition of being in, out, and on the loop in the driving context. These definitions are linked directly to whether or not the driver is in physical control of the vehicle, and also the degree of situation monitoring required and afforded by the driver. A consideration of how this definition can be operationalized and measured in empirical studies is then provided, and the paper concludes with a short overview of the implications of this definition for the development of automated driving functions.
- Planning for walking and cycling in an autonomous-vehicle futureBotello, Bryan; Buehler, Ralph; Hankey, Steven C.; Mondschein, Andrew; Jiang, Zhiqiu (Elsevier, 2019-05-30)Over the last few decades, walking and cycling have increased in the United States, especially in large cities. Future efforts to promote active travel will occur during a time when automated vehicles will increasingly perform driving tasks without human input. Little is known about impacts of an automated vehicle fleet on pedestrians and cyclists. This study uses semi-structured interviews with experts from academia as well as the public and private sectors in the United States to (1) explore potential synergies and conflicts between increasingly automated motorized vehicles and active travel; and (2) highlight planning and policy priorities for active travel in a time of emerging connected and automated vehicles (C/AVs). Our interviews indicate that while C/AVs promise to make roadways safer for motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians, some potential hazards exist related to communication, behavior, and technical capabilities in the near term. In the long-term, C/AVs may have drastic impacts on infrastructure, the built environment, and land use, but these impacts are likely to vary by locality. Federal and state governments will play a role in ensuring that connected and automated vehicles operate safely, but local governments will ultimately determine how automated vehicles are integrated into the transportation network.
- Radiation Mapping in Post-Disaster Environments Using an Autonomous HelicopterTowler, Jerry; Krawiec, Bryan; Kochersberger, Kevin B. (MDPI, 2012-07-05)Recent events have highlighted the need for unmanned remote sensing in dangerous areas, particularly where structures have collapsed or explosions have occurred, to limit hazards to first responders and increase their efficiency in planning response operations. In the case of the Fukushima nuclear reactor explosion, an unmanned helicopter capable of obtaining overhead images, gathering radiation measurements, and mapping both the structural and radiation content of the environment would have given the response team invaluable data early in the disaster, thereby allowing them to understand the extent of the damage and areas where dangers to personnel existed. With this motivation, the Unmanned Systems Lab at Virginia Tech has developed a remote sensing system for radiation detection and aerial imaging using a 90 kg autonomous helicopter and sensing payloads for the radiation detection and imaging operations. The radiation payload, which is the sensor of focus in this paper, consists of a scintillating type detector with associated software and novel search algorithms to rapidly and effectively map and locate sources of high radiation intensity. By incorporating this sensing technology into an unmanned aerial vehicle system, crucial situational awareness can be gathered about a post-disaster environment and response efforts can be expedited. This paper details the radiation mapping and localization capabilities of this system as well as the testing of the various search algorithms using simulated radiation data. The various components of the system have been flight tested over a several-year period and a new production flight platform has been built to enhance reliability and maintainability. The new system is based on the Aeroscout B1-100 helicopter platform, which has a one-hour flight endurance and uses a COFDM radio system that gives the helicopter an effective range of 7 km.
- Remote collection of microorganisms at two depths in a freshwater lake using an unmanned surface vehicle (USV)Powers, Craig W.; Hanlon, Regina; Schmale, David G. III (PeerJ, 2018-01-26)Microorganisms are ubiquitous in freshwater aquatic environments, but little is known about their abundance, diversity, and transport. We designed and deployed a remote-operated water-sampling system onboard an unmanned surface vehicle (USV, a remote-controlled boat) to collect and characterize microbes in a freshwater lake in Virginia, USA. The USV collected water samples simultaneously at 5 and 50 cm below the surface of the water at three separate locations over three days in October, 2016. These samples were plated on a non-selective medium (TSA) and on a medium selective for the genus Pseudomonas (KBC) to estimate concentrations of culturable bacteria in the lake. Mean concentrations ranged from 134 to 407 CFU/mL for microbes cultured on TSA, and from 2 to 8 CFU/mL for microbes cultured on KBC. There was a significant difference in the concentration of microbes cultured on KBC across three sampling locations in the lake (P = 0.027), suggesting an uneven distribution of Pseudomonas across the locations sampled. There was also a significant difference in concentrations of microbes cultured on TSA across the three sampling days (P = 0.038), demonstrating daily fluctuations in concentrations of culturable bacteria. There was no significant difference in concentrations of microbes cultured on TSA (P = 0.707) and KBC (P = 0.641) across the two depths sampled, suggesting microorganisms were well-mixed between 5 and 50 cm below the surface of the water. About 1 percent (7/720) of the colonies recovered across all four sampling missions were ice nucleation active (ice+) at temperatures warmer than — 10 °C. Our work extends traditional manned observations of aquatic environments to unmanned systems, and highlights the potential for USVs to understand the distribution and diversity of microbes within and above freshwater aquatic environments.