Delegates at the UAS event, Twickenham, London 2014

UAS CONTACTS 2015

HOW TO GET TO THE CONFERENCE VENUE 2015

Train/London Underground

The nearest train station is Twickenham, which is a short walk from the stadium. Turn right out of the station, and then continue down Whitton Road. Regular trains run to Twickenham from London Waterloo, Clapham Junction, Reading, Ascot and Windsor & Eton Riverside. Other stations in the vicinity of the stadium are Whitton, St Margarets and Hounslow. 

The London Overground service also runs from Richmond to North London and Stratford. The nearest Underground stations are Hounslow East for the Piccadilly Line, and Richmond for the District Line.

By Road

Twickenham Stadium is on the northern side of the A316 into London. From the M25, exit J12 onto the M3. This becomes the A316 and Twickenham Stadium is off the Whitton Road roundabout next to the Lexus/Toyota car dealership. From London, turn right off the A316 at Whitton Road roundabout. Please arrive EARLY to avoid congestion and temporary road closures prior to the event.

Twickenham Car Park

A controlled parking zone operates over an area of approximately one mile around the stadium. Fines and towing are enforced in this area, including Sundays. To pre-book parking at Twickenham please visit www.rfu.com to book online, or download a booking form.

It is recommended that you pre-book a car parking space online via the RFU eTicketing site or using a booking form available in the parking section. Limited parking may be available on the day, but to guarantee a space pre-booking is advised.

WASHINGTON POST - PENTAGON WANTS DRONES LAUNCHED FROM GIANT AIRSHIP - DARPA 10 NOV 2014

In the 2012 movie “The Avengers,” Captain America, the Hulk, Iron Man and the rest of the gang flew on a massive aircraft carrier that carried dozens of planes through the air and disappeared from plain view with the help of a cloaking device. The idea that the U.S. military could develop something similar is still seen as far-fetched, but this much is true: a Pentagon agency has just launched a new effort to develop an airship sure to draw comparisons.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is exploring whether it would be possible to turn an existing plane into a flying fortress capable of launching and recovering numerous drone aircraft. Doing so would extend the range of drones that gather intelligence and perform other missions while saving money and limiting the risks pilots take, DARPA officials said Sunday.

“We want to find ways to make smaller aircraft more effective, and one promising idea is enabling existing large aircraft, with minimal modification, to become ‘aircraft carriers in the sky,’” said Dan Patt a DARPA program manager. “We envision innovative launch and recovery concepts for new [unmanned aerial system] designs that would couple with recent advances in small payload design and collaborative technologies.”

Unlike the Avengers’ heli-carrier, DARPA’s sky-carrier would likely use a plane like the B-52 Stratofortress bomber, B-1B Lancer bomber or C-130 Hercules cargo plane, according to a request for information released by the agency on Friday. Companies, universities and other organizations interested in participating must submit ideas by Nov. 26 and include “system-level conceptual designs,” including a feasibility analysis.

DARPA also left open the possibility “missile-based approaches” to launching drones in its request for information, and says those interested should provide a sense for how many drones could be launched.

It’s not the first time that the U.S. military has dabbled with sky-carriers. In the 1930s, for example, the U.S. Navy launched Sparrowhawk biplanes from helium-filled rigid dirigibles built by the Goodyear-Zeppelin Company.

The two airships that launched planes, the USS Akron and USS Macon, both experienced catastrophic crashes. The Akron crashed in 1933 off the coast of New Jersey, killing 73 of 76 men on board, according to the Navy Historical Center. The Macon crashed two years later off the coast of California. Most of the service members on board survived, but the dirigible sank “effectively ending the Navy’s controversial, and trouble-plagued, program of rigid airship operations,” Navy officials said.

More recently, the Air Force investigated whether it could use a 747 jet as an aircraft carrier, commissioning a report from Boeing. The defense contractor sketched a concept in which part of the plane would be hollowed out, and “micro-fighters” would be developed to fit inside, according to briefing slides later released by the military.

DARPA - Artists impression of Spruce Goose type mothership - as an aerial aircraft carrier that might launch and retrieve smaller drone aircraft. The concept is not that dissimilar to the drone aircraft carrier concept (see below) from Bluebird Marine Systems. Drone fixed wing craft are not so versatile as quadcopters, especially in swarm mode. But, fixed wing craft should have a longer range.

OCEAN PLASTIC PATROLS - The small Syma model quadcopter drone above is being used to develop the landing deck on the 'proof of concept' model of the SeaVax ocean cleaning robot ship, seen below as a CAD diagram. The deck position is on the rear of the boat. BMS will be looking at incorporating electronic/optical, infra-red and other guidance methods, such that a drone targets the landing pad, just the same as a modern passenger aircraft can land on a runway without a pilot. This will be a two way information stream, where the feedback helps docking. The idea is that an onboard UAV may scout ahead for plastic garbage patches, log information about the ocean several miles ahead of the robot ships and stream that data back to HQ to help plan the cleanup programme.

ROBOT SHIP - The host vessel is solar and wind powered, so truly autonomous. Not a whiff of diesel or nuclear power in sight - an object lesson to all those who operate nasty polluting vessels, such as submarines and aircraft carriers. Nuclear power is so dangerous as a long-term contaminant, it is a wonder that it has not been banned under the equivalent of the Geneva Convention for warfare at sea.

MARINISED DRONE - This is thought to be the world's first marinised drone (11-4-15). Bluebird Marine Systems think that they were the first to conceive this leap forward in marine surveillance technology. (Please let us know of any other contenders) The small Syma model was tested in a water basin with a variety of float sizes before the team settled on this relatively large version, that gave a significantly higher margin of safety than smaller test pieces. Then the team took off and landed from the deck on the rear of the SeaVax Enterprise 1. The Syma was chosen because it is very economical to replace if, for example, a ditching in the water were to halt play. The full size drone will have ample range and payload to be able to fend off pirates intent on boarding one of the ocean cleaning robots. We recommend that you watch the the movie 'Captain Phillips' if you are a naval architect - to get a feel for threats that need to countered at the design stage. Every large ocean going vessel could carry an anti-pirate drone. No doubt, eventually they will - UN take note.

THE BASICS - WHAT CONSTITUTES A UAS ?

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone and referred to as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. The typical launch and recovery method of an unmanned aircraft is by the function of an automatic system or an external operator on the ground. Historically, UAVs were simple remotely piloted aircraft, but autonomous control is increasingly being employed.

They are usually deployed for military and special operation applications, but also used in a small but growing number of civil applications, such as policing and firefighting, and nonmilitary security work, such as surveillance of pipelines. UAVs are often preferred for missions that are too "dull, dirty or dangerous" for manned aircraft.

CIVILIAN USES

Beyond the military applications of UAVs with which "drones" became most associated, numerous civil aviation uses have been developed, including aerial surveying of crops, acrobatic aerial footage in filmmaking, search and rescue operations, inspecting power lines and pipelines, and counting wildlife, delivering medical supplies to remote or otherwise inaccessible regions, with some manufacturers rebranding the technology as "unmanned aerial systems" (UASs) in preference over "drones." Drones have also been used by animal-rights advocates to determine if illegal hunting is taking place, even on private property. Drones equipped with video cameras are being used by the League Against Cruel Sports, a British animal-rights group, to spot instances of illegal fox hunting. UAVs are nowadays routinely used in several applications where human interaction is difficult or dangerous. These applications range from military to civilian and include reconnaissance operations, border patrol missions, forest fire detection, surveillance, and search/rescue missions.

FAA DESIGNATION

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration has adopted the name unmanned aircraft (UA) to describe aircraft systems without a flight crew on board. More common names include UAV, drone, remotely piloted vehicle (RPV), remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), and remotely operated aircraft (ROA). These "limited-size" (as defined by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale) unmanned aircraft flown in the USA's National Airspace System, flown solely for recreation and sport purposes, such as models, are generally flown under the voluntary safety standards of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, the United States' national aeromodeling organization. To operate a UA for non-recreational purposes in the United States, according to the FAA users must obtain a Certificate of Authorization (COA) to operate in national airspace. At the moment, COAs require a public entity as a sponsor. For example, when BP needed to observe oil spills, they operated the Aeryon Scout UAVs under a COA granted to the University of Alaska Fairbanks. COAs have been granted for both land and shipborne operations.

LINKS & REFERENCE

Defense One  every-country-will-have-armed-drones-within-ten-years

China-building-army-unmanned-military-drones-rival-U-S

www.uascdc.com

http://www.darpa.mil/default.aspx

http://www.defense.gov/

www.uascdc.com
www.cranfield.ac.uk
www.cranfield.ac.uk

Washington Post December 2014 The Pentagon wants an airborne aircraft carrier for drones

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2014/11/10/the-pentagon-wants-an-airborne-aircraft-carrier-for-drones/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011533/China-building-army-unmanned-military-drones-rival-U-S.html

https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/geneva-conventions

DSEIi UAS

http://www.dsei.co.uk/

Totally unmanned

Olympia commercial uav show

Airforce Technology p1hh-hammerhead-unmanned-aircraft-system-italy

IMechE unmanned aircraft systems challenge uas

http://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/aerospace/auasc

http://www.totallyunmanned.com/

http://www.wired.com/2013/11/drone-lasers/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unmanned_aerial_system

http://www.uas-event.com/

http://www.uas-event.com/Content/Call-for-papers-now-open/6_11/

Bluebird Aero Systems

http://www.bluebird-uav.com/

WORLD FIRST - The first ever concept solar powered aircraft carrier, showing a squadron of four 4.7m drone quadcopters (see below for squadron of twelve). This ship could easily carry 12 birds. This is also, probably, the world's smallest ever aircraft carrier and the first unmanned aircraft carrier. A 1/20th scale model of this vessel will take to the water in 2015 for some naval wargaming fun. Will it ever happen in real life? Almost certainly. Why? Because it's the cheapest and safest way of asserting a military presence. You don't need to train and feed a crew at sea, whose lives are on the line, just train a small ground-crew to monitor situations and take the appropriate action as and when required. It's a bit like shopping online and going to the shops. Going to the shops is healthier and a day out, but shopping online gives you more choice at lower prices without leaving GHQ. The concept should be seen in light of the DARPA proposal for an airborne version that launches and retrieves Predator type aircraft. See above.

For simulation purposes the above carrier will feature the 'Future Battleship' drone. This economic model comes with a camera and takes decent pictures, but in comparison, even the most basic mobile phone offers superior picture quality. The camera can be activated via the controller. The important thing to consider here is that this technology is scaleable and affordable.

The FBQC comes with a Gatling gun mounted on its belly, and at the flip of the switch it can rain simulated destruction down on an opposing force. This is one of the most exciting things about this drone.  The on board gyro helps to provide a smooth flight experience. It also comes with adjustable control sensitivity, so as your experience grows, you can customize it to your preferences. Twelve of these beauties are shown in the diagram below of the proposed HK class aircraft carrier. It is difficult to pigeonhole this design because it has the firepower of a destroyer - and might carry quad fighters at the same time. Yet it is nimble compared to traditional aircraft carriers.

WORLD FIRST - An HK-ZCC class autonomous aircraft carrier / destroyer, showing deployment of a squadron of 12 fighter quadcopter drones. To overcome the potential for communications jamming, in a cyber-warfare situation, the battleship and the quadcopter squadron would be able to operate independently to target and neutralize incoming threats - or indeed, carry out operational attacks. There are no rules in war when dealing with an aggressor who themselves have no rules. Civilised military go all out to safeguard humans from unnecessary suffering. It's a two stage response situation, where, if an enemy breaks the rules of humane engagement, the gloves are off.

Another advantage to this battleship is that it is energy self sufficient in cruise mode. During combat it could swap to IC engines for sprints of 30-35 knots to chase an adversary. But in regular patrol usage there is no fuel cost. The drone squadron could seriously reduce the gap between, for example, target submarines.

CIVILIAN USES - The same basic concept might one day see plastic pollution in the increasing number of ocean gyres, reduced significantly, by a concept vehicle called SeaVax, presently under construction as a small demonstrator and please note that BMS is only building the above carrier for wargaming purposes - not with any intention to become a military supplier.