GPS World, April 2016

WATCH MARKET UAV 2 O perating in industrial environments where no margin for error is tolerated is complex stressful and delicate The distance from an in flight UAV to the industrial asset that it is observing or inspecting obviously has critical importance for safety data precision nand costeffectiveness The AiRobot Ranger counters this problem by displaying the distance between the UAV and the object of interest on multiple smart phones or tablets ensuring the extra situational awareness that is crucial for professional UAV operations The Ranger consists of an add on sensor module that can be easily attached and detached a ground station and iOS Android apps Everyone involved in an operation can simultaneously log in on the ground station to receive real time situational feedback In adition to visual feedback the Ranger also offers audio feedback via voice commands beep tones and adjustable target zones Passive and independent the system Airborne Ranger top left continuously monitors the distance between itself and the silo transmitting the separation to pilot and payload operator foreground does not require connection with flight controller or other UAV electronics It can be mounted externally on most industrial UAVs Silo Inspection To gather data concerning defects or damage to an agricultural products silo a Ranger was employed to take photographs of high surfaces and inaccessible areas It enabled safe operation and furnished further data enabling calculation of the size of the photographed defects Everyone involved pilot payload 34 GPS WORLD WWW GPSWORLD COM APRIL 2016 operator and observer used the Ranger application on their own iOS or Android device An audio warning was set to 3 meters Whenever the UAV came within this geofence around the silo audio warning signals were generated ensuring operational safety Camera focus was calibrated at 4 meters The pilot maneuvered based upon the target audio modus The target zone was set at 4 meters with a margin of 50 centimeters Whenever Keep Your Distance Relative Position Key to Industrial Jobs See JOBS page 36 The ranger can be attached directly to the UAV platform left without any additional wiring Above the base station rover and display of distance from object on any iOS or Android device