UAV - EUREKA - Sense and Avoid

Unmanned aircraft technology takes leap forward thanks to Queensland research

ScanEagle - Insitu/Boeing

Firefighters could be using small, unmanned aircraft with cameras to monitor bushfires by next summer, thanks to Queensland breakthrough ensuring the planes automatically avoid mid-air collisions.

Researchers have successfully tested an onboard monitoring system that is able to detect other aircraft nearby and send warnings to ground control.

The next step, they say, will be to program the planes to swerve away from each other to avoid crashes.

Small unmanned aircraft are currently not permitted to fly in civil airspace in Australia, but aerospace company Insitu Pacific hopes they can get clearance from the Civil Aviation Safety Authority by the end of the year.

"One thing firefighters don't tend to do a lot of is follow the bushfire front at night time," Insitu Pacific managing director Andrew Duggan said.

"Occasionally they'll fly very high altitude aircraft over them but really, getting real-time updates on the fire...is critical.

"Terrible scenarios like what occurred in Victoria on Black Saturday where people literally couldn't get on the phone lines to find out how close the fire was to their homes ... if this is being streamed in a YouTube format, people with an internet connection could potentially say, 'That's where the fire is, I need to get out now'."

The new technology is part of Project ResQu, a $7 million plan to fast-track technology to allow unmanned aircraft to assist with disaster, environment and biosecurity management.

It has been funded and developed by QUT's Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, Boeing and Insitu Pacific. The Queensland Government and CSIRO have also provided funding.

QUT Professor Duncan Campbell said the technology was a world-first for small unmanned aircraft.
"I can't overstate the achievement that's been made here. All these opportunities will ultimately lead to greater productivity and greater safety to people," he said.

If the aircraft do get CASA clearance, they could become a regular feature in the skies.

The humble traffic and police choppers could become obsolete. Power companies could also use them during long-haul maintenance checks in rural Australia.

However the unmanned aircraft, which can fly for more than 20 hours, don't come cheap.

Mr Duggan said they can range from "hundreds of thousands up into the millions".

"It's more about capability and safety more than anything else," he said.

"A lot of it comes to getting the price point down and the safety factor up."