Digital Commons Network^™

Corridor-Wide Surveillance Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Yu Zhang, Achilleas Kourtellis, Joseph Post, Hualong Tang, Keerthana Yelchuri, Brian Porter

Research Reports

In the second phase of the project, the research team continued traffic data collection with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and dual sensors (RGB and thermal cameras) for roadways under normal operational condition and during incident clearance. The research team conducted a thorough literature review of incident detection methods. Based on the review outcomes, the research team extracted traffic features from learning the video data and trained several learning models for identifying non-congestion conditions caused by incidents. This method was tested on a two-minute video with data captured by a drone at a location at which traffic was passing through an …

Using Small Uas For Stem Education: Introducing Robotics And Mechatronics With Drones, Christian Janke, Stefan Kleinke, Kimberly Luthi, Yuetong Lin

36th Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics

Several global developments point to importance of STEM-related education and studies. Every industry sector faces challenges in the recruiting of qualified personnel, due to retiring employees and general economic growth. Also, several domains, foremost automotive and aviation are undergoing a tremendous shift towards electrification to achieve sustainability. Hence, sparking the interest in STEM studies, education and vocational training cannot start early enough. This paper introduces the benefits of the educational use of sUAS by identifying core benefits in the three domains of learning – cognitive, affective, psycho-motor. Preliminary data and survey results from from several science, technology, engineering and math …

Corridor-Wide Surveillance Using Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Benjamín Colucci-Ríos, Ivette Cruzado, David González-Barreto, Alberto M. Figueroa-Medina, Didier M. Valdés-Díaz, Yu Zhang, Achilleas Kourtellis, Joseph Post, Hualong Tang

Research Reports

The motivation for this research was the lack of a protocol to apply an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platform for traffic data collection and effectively analyze and evaluate incidents in high-speed multi-lane and freeway corridors. The ultimate purpose of this research study was to integrate the use of drones into real-time incident detection to assist in reducing congestion and delay, improve traffic operations, and enhance overall safety in the corridor and contiguous surface transportation networks. Phase I of the research project consisted of a comprehensive literature review, selection and acquisition of drones and drone training to develop the protocol, data …

A Modular Framework For Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles For Military Operations, Dante Tezza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (MR-UAV) are commonly used in a wide range of military operations. However, current MR-UAV models have limited payload capabilities and flight time, making it impractical for a single system to be well-suited for different applications. For instance, a drone designed to carry heavier equipment is not well suited for uses that require agility and speed. Therefore, military organizations employ multiple MR-UAV models, leading to complex logistics, training, and overall increased costs.

This dissertation presents a modular MR-UAV framework that allows a user to quickly tailor the aircraft for different military operations by easily changing modular parts …

Design Of A Low-Cost, Open Source, And Open Hardware Educational Drone, Hyunjae Jeong, Xiangxu Lin, Alfred Shaker, Irvin Steve Cardenas, Jong-Hoon Kim, Jeremy Robins, Yong-Seok Chi

36th Florida Conference on Recent Advances in Robotics

In today’s technology-driven world, innovation is high-paced and the importance of learning the skills surrounding emerging technologies has become crucial. One of such emerging technologies are drones, and the need for drone education has become apparent. However, current educational drones are inaccessible to many individuals, and instead are aimed at collegiate education. Furthermore, drones are hazardous, difficult to manipulate, and costly. To address these issues, in this paper we present the ATR-Drone Project. We have developed a safe mechanical platform, composed of 3D printed components and a simple round metal rod that serves to adjust the balance of the drone …

The Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uass) Industry And The Business Impacts Of The Evolution Of The Federal Regulatory Environment, Darren W. Spencer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite the explosion of popularity of UASs, and the recognition that such systems must find a way to safely operate alongside manned aviation, a literature review by this author as well as interviews with three commercial aerial photography companies in Tampa Bay, Florida, indicate that regulatory restrictions are still the greatest obstacle to law abiding commercial UAS operators. It can take six to eight months with a backlog of 12,000 waiver applications to get either a Part 333 or Part 107 exemption, which grants FAA permission for a commercial operator to fly a UAS inside controlled airspace (Gardner, 2018). A …