Remotely Piloted AircraftsToward Smart Cities

Flaviano Costa Dantas (flavianofcd@fab.mil.br)Joao Batista Dolvim Dantas (dolvimjbdd@fab.mil.br)Filipe Emanuel Vieira Taveiros (filipefevt@fab.mil.br)

Ricardo Alexandre Limeira Pinheiro (limeiraralp@fab.mil.br)Silvano Carlos Lopes Junior (silvanocljunior@ect.ufrn.br)

Lucimar Fernandes de Lima (lucimar.f@ect.ufrn.br)Zulmara Virginia de Carvalho (zvcarvalho@ect.ufrn.br)

School of Science and TechonolgyFederal University of Rio Grande do Norte

Barreira do Inferno Launch CenterNatal, Brazil

Abstract—The Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), popularlyknown as drones, are controlled from a ground station or mayoperate fully autonomous, and can be used for imaging andtopographic mapping activities, atmospheric and environmen-tal data collection, surveillance, search and saving, as well astransporting objects. In order to exploit the potential of theRPA, in the most different areas, from the military to thecommercial, the Barreira do Inferno Launch Center (CLBI)and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN)has been developing technologies aimed at these aircraft. Withinthe context of the plural functionality of this technological tool,this paper presents the RPA as an integrating vehicle of greatimportance in the development and sustainability of smart cities.Specifically, technological resources and their applications. Inaddition, the role of the tool as a vehicle for strengthening theinnovation ecosystem covered by the Triple Helix (Universities,Governments and Industry) is discussed, as well as its use focusedon the well-being of society, which is at the heart of the cities ofthe future.

Keywords—Remotely Piloted Aircraft, Smart Cities, InnovationEcosystem

I. INTRODUCTION

The use of remotely piloted aircraft has increased inmany countries around the globe in corporate, commercial,military or experimental research. These aircrafts are usuallyreferred to in popular media as drones or unmanned aerialvehicles (UAVs), however, the technical term adopted by theInternational Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is RemotelyPilot Aircraft System (RPAS), which encompasses both theaeromodel and the RPA. Unlike the aeromodel, which mainobjective is only recreative, the RPA is controlled from a ter-restrial station or even acts totally autonomously, for instance,in the operations of [1][2]:

(i) Image of Land Mapping and Topography;(ii) Collection of Atmospheric and Environmental Data;

(iii) Surveillance;(iv) Search and Rescue;(v) Transportation of objects, among others.

The increasing acceptance and use of RPA in these opera-tions is mainly due to the low operating cost when comparedto conventional aircraft. In addition, the partial or even totaldecrease in the participation of the human operator confersan advantage on the RPA when used in high-risk missions[3]. These aerial vehicles can be remotely piloted or operateautonomously from takeoff to landing; or a combination of thetwo modes of operation (automated). In the first case, a pilotcompletely controls the aircraft from a ground station, usinginstruments and controls capable of translating in real timethe behavior of the aircraft and pilot commands. In the caseof autonomous RPA, the aircraft is automatically controlledby an Autonomous Flight Control System (AFCS) that isprogrammed with the defined points for the mission, calledwaypoints. The AFCS is responsible for conducting the aircraftat designated waypoints. The control of the aircraft can stillbe switched between fully autonomous, partially autonomousor fully manual. There are many RPA models on the market,however, the most important feature for its use in criticalmissions are the embedded systems used and the intendedpurpose. The fully autonomous operations of these RPAs,which are those where the remote pilot is not able to intervenein a timely manner and in civilian use activities are stillprohibited in Brazil.

Whether it is the autonomous or remotely controlled RPA,in order to have the missions fully developed - in bothcases - it is essential and mandatory, besides a robust andapproved aerodynamic design, that the remotely piloted aircraftfeatures robust, deterministic, flexible, scalable, reliable andhighly available technology. It is necessary that these sixcharacteristics coexist and co-ordinate harmoniously, otherwiseit becomes unfeasible to use in uncontrolled areas. In this con-text, the primary purpose of the CLBI Flight Safety Guidelinesis to protect life, facilities and equipment against the impactof vehicles. To reach this objective, the basic criterion usedis not to expose the general public to greater risks than thosewho are submitted in daily life.

In order to make feasible the use of these equipments in

Dimensions:

1100mm [43,3in]

288mm [11,3in]3300mm [129,9in]

2286

mm

[90i

n]

901mm

[35,5in]

356m

m [1

4in]

163mm [6,4in]

Fig. 1. Penguin B RPA Platform from UAV Factory used in the SpaceVANT project.

the most diverse activities, preserving the safety of people,the Brazilian government, through the National Civil AviationAgency (ANAC), approved on 2017 the Brazilian AviationRegulation (RBAC-E) no 94, with the aim of contributing tothe promotion of sustainable and safe development for thesector, with harmonized rules according to other civil avia-tion institutions of international scope - the Federal AviationAdministration (FAA), the Civil Aviation Safety Authority(CASA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)- from the United States, Australia and the European Union,respectively [1].

Nowadays the RPA emerges as an integrating vehicle ofgreat importance in the development and sustainability of smartcities, being a vector for strengthening the innovation ecosys-tem covered in the Triple Helix (Universities, Governments andIndustry) and used for the well-being of the Society, which isat the heart of the cities of the future. According to [4], oneof the main concerns of the European Parliament HORIZON2020 program is the development of innovative systems andsolutions for sustainable transport and mobility, with emphasison cities. The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte(UFRN) and the Inferno Barrier Launch Center (CLBI) areinnovating in the development of embedded technologies thatmeet the needs for development and sustainability of Natal/RNas a smart city.

This article is organized as follows: Section II describesthe technological resources developed (embedded) and therespective applications of RPA in the activities of a smartcity are discussed in Section III. Next, section IV presentsthe technical and safety assessment of the aircraft regardingthe use in cities and crowded locations. Section V emphasizesthe cycle of innovation and the importance of the effectiveinsertion of the RPA in the process of smart cities. Section VIconcludes the paper.

II. TECHNOLOGICAL FEATURES

The Barreira do Inferno Launch Center, in order to fulfillsome operational and flight safety requirements for launchingsounding rockets, started a research and development projectnamed SpaceVANT (RPA to aid in space missions, in literaltranslation). The project main goal was to produce embeddedtechnology to use in RPA, in order to enable the RPA toperform autonomous flight above the sounding rockets impactarea in the ocean to collect data, real time images, and toautomatically locate and track boats and ships intruding therestricted impact area.

As the project evolved, missions with other objectives wereadded to the project scope. A cooperation agreement withthe Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte was signedto continue the development of the project, to promote thedevelopment of personnel in the technological and spatial areaand, above all, extend the capabilities and uses of the RPASdeveloped for use to benefit the society and cities in theNatal / RN region. A multi-RPA squadron project was startedunder the coordination of UFRN and technical cooperation andtechnological transfer by CLBI.

The RPA platform used in the project is the Penguin Baircraft from UAV Factory, depicted in Figure 1. Designed asa high performance unmanned aircraft, Penguin B is capableof up to 26.5 hour endurance with the 4 kg payload. With asmall footprint of 3.3 meter wingspan, it can handle up to 11.5kg of combined fuel and payload weight [5]. Table I presentsPenguin B UAV specification and performance parameters.

This aircraft is categorized by ANAC in Class 3 (maxi-mum takeoff weight of 25 kg), under the following primaryrequirements: Minimum age of 18 years to pilot or assist theoperation as an observer; Operations may only be initiatedif there is sufficient autonomy of the aircraft to make the

TABLE I. PENGUIN B SPECIFICATIONS AND PERFORMANCEPARAMETERS

Specifications

Parameter ValueMaximum Take-Off Weight 21.5 kgEmpty Weight (excl fuel and payload) 10 kgWing Span 3.3 mLength 2.27 mWing Area 0.79 m2Powerplant 2.5 hpMax Payload 10 kgTakeoff method Catapult, Runway or car top launchEnvironmental protection Sealed against rain, snow

Performance

Endurance 20+ hoursCruise Speed 22 m/s (79 km/h)Max Level Speed 36 m/s (130 km/h)Takeoff run 30 m

flight and to land safely at the intended location, takinginto account known weather conditions. In order to operatedrones it is also necessary to follow the rules of the NationalTelecommunications Agency (ANATEL) and the Departmentof Airspace Control (DECEA) regarding the use of airspace[6].

The SpaceVANT Squadron Project will benefit by theavailable embedded technologies developed by CLBI, as wellas sensors and actuators also embedded in the RPA, andothers that will be developed for the new objectives aimingthe use in the cities of the region. This technology is dis-tributed in computer algorithms, telecommunications links andembedded electronics. Some of these features are indicated inFigure 2, which presents Penguin B RPA Platform (partiallyassembled) with the embedded payload developed by theBarreira do Inferno Launch Center in association with theFederal University of Rio Grande do Norte. The embeddedresources of the CLBI/UFRN RPA has motivated to use iton Smart Cities applications. Among the resources illustratedin Figure 2, the following stand out: (i) The back and frontcameras, which may be used with several types of filters andlenses according to mission requirements; (ii) Light DetectionAnd Ranging (LIDAR) System; (iii) Dedicated processors foraircraft control, auto-pilot system, image processing and flight-safety devices; (iv) high-distance S-Band and VHF radio links.So far, the technology gives to the RPA the following features:

A. Tripartite Pilot Mode

The remote piloting system was developed to work in threemodes of operation, as follows:

1) Manual: for short distance, up to 1,5 km from the pilot’sfield of view;

2) Manual from a Control Center: through a front camera,with a radius of operation up to 110 km; and

3) Automatic: also operable from a Control Center, but withautonomy and radius of operation of up to 1,000 km.

B. Use of several RPAs Simultaneously

There are two ways of searching with multiple RPAs:

1) The mission programmer divides the area to be probedinto portions and puts an RPA for each of them. Each RPA

performs a flight trace (waypoints) pre-set by the missionprogrammer; and

2) The contour of the area to be probed is established(waypoints) by the mission programmer. It is identified whichRPAs will participate in the mission. The contour data andthe aircraft identification are passed on to the software onboard. A leading aircraft is chosen. The software, from then on,will choose the best route for the aircrafts, to cover the entirearea the most efficiently. This process mightily facilitates thework of the mission programmer. The software is in processof conclusion at UFRN.

The embedded systems allow uninterrupted communicationbetween several RPAs of the squadron at a distance betweenaircrafts of approximately 40 km.

C. Capacity to Transport Extra Cargo

In addition to the normal weight of the aircraft, which is10 kg, it can carry a further 10 kg of cargo, which shouldbe distributed between fuel and on-board equipment. Themaximum fuel capacity in the main fuel tank is 7500 cc,therefore, with the need to operate with maximum autonomy(1000 km), there are around 2.5 kg for the equipment onboard. With the miniaturization of the components, due to thenew technologies, the value of 2.5 kg was not reached afterthe installation of cameras, on-board computers, controllers,wiring, supports, laser canon, antennas, transmitters, etc. Itwas necessary to introduce steel ballast of 1 kg in order tomaintain the center of mass of the aircraft. The RPA cancarry up to 6.5 kg of load in its mechanical support forcarrying extra experiments, for different purposes, for instance,scientific experiments. If there is a need to carry a maximumload on this support, the steel ballast (1 kg) can be removedand two liters of fuel inserted and still have an autonomy ofmore than two hours, that is, more than 200 km.

D. High Definition Cameras

The camera installed in the front of the aircraft, mainlyused for remote piloting through the Control Center, producescolor and infrared images. The lower camera, located on theback of the aircraft, is used for area scanning and capture ofcolored HD images. An infra-red or thermal image camera canalso be installed, along with different filters.

E. Possibility of Exceeding the Curvature of the Earth

With the technology developed and already embedded,the SpaceVANT RPA is able to surpass the curvature of theplanet receiving and sending commands and data as far as theautonomy of the aircraft allows. The tests indicate robust data-link up to 1,000 km away from the control center, overcomingthe need to use satellites or signal repeaters (albeit it is feasibleif many RPAs are flying nearby in the coverage radius).

F. Flight autonomy

The current configuration of the aircraft gives an autonomyof 10 hours of uninterrupted flight, at an altitude of 5000 m.However, in order to obtain better images, the flight is preferredto a maximum of 500 m altitude.

Fig. 2. CLBI Penguin B RPA Platform (partially assembled) with the developed embedded payload.

III. RPA APPLICATIONS IN SMART CITIES

The SpaceVANT project was firstly conceived to supportsounding rocket launch operations in CLBI. However, due tothe many feasible uses and features that can be embeddedto the platform, the project evolved to a wider view ofapplications.

With regard to RPA applications in the integration and de-velopment of smart cities, a list of possible topics is discussed,and the following stand out: Public security, search and rescue,pollution monitoring, and control of natural resources whichinclude disease vectors monitoring.

A. Public Security

When used for surveillance and public safety (RPA patrol),the drones can fly autonomous missions on pre-defined routesand act as mobile surveillance platforms, discourage criminalactivities [7] as well as enable monitoring of forests, coastalroads, ponds, traffic, central avenues of the city by meansof thermal cameras, especially during the period of greaterfragility (nocturnal). Using this type of aircraft to protect civilsociety from potential threats of crimes against life (urbanviolence and terrorism) and against public goods (vandalism)is entirely viable - especially in monitoring large events -as it will allow the detection of images of high quality andrapid response to crisis situations, helping security teamswith the remote supervision of people at places of interestsince, unfortunately, crime has grown in large cities. Thistype of aircraft can be used to protect civil society from thepotential threats of crimes against life (urban violence andterrorism) and against public goods (vandalism), especially at

large events, capturing high definition images and assisting inthe implementation of rapid preventive or corrective responses.In addition, RPAs can help track, trace, detect, and recognizecriminals accurately [8]. It is important to emphasize that theRPA is showing great value and certainly the use of this typeof aircraft will increase. For example, it was necessary to carryout a ban on air areas and the surveillance of large areas duringthe recent major events that took place in Brazil, especiallyWorld Youth Day 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil2014. In a country of continental dimensions, thousands ofterrestrial and fluvial borders, dense tropical forests and othergeographical features that make it difficult to control territorialboundaries, may consider that the extensive use of RPA is apowerful security tool [3].

B. Search and Rescue

The RPA will be useful for identifying a subject that hassuffered an accident or incident, detecting by means of areasweep, producing aerial images of the complete area, adjustingin real time the camera aperture, the altitude and the flightspeed to optimal values during the route to be followed [9],allowing rescue personnel to have an advance report beforereaching the scene of the incident or accident. For example,when compared to traffic accident, a life of the people involved,depending on the demand of the quotation of the location ofthe fact. If it is a rescue team and a long way off, it does nothave accurate information of the place, but it is not a precisematter. It is notorious that in some cities a rescue team useshelicopters to access accidents located in difficult access areas.This solution is expensive and not suitable for some of them.There is an area not allowed to land on the helicopter and thereare heavy traffic congestion no way or around the location of

the accident, the delay of the rescue team will be unavoidable[2]. In this case RPAs can be an excellent solution to help arescue team to define a better route, not least possible time,with a perception of the characteristics of the accident andthe scenario and, if necessary, send through the RPA the Firstaid kit if the case is serious and needs a service by someonequalified and who is not local.

C. Pollution Monitoring

The RPA may be used to assist in the monitoring ofenvironmental pollution. For instance, the Federal Universityof Rio Grande do Norte analyzes the level of environmentalpollution of the ”particle cloud” produced by the Sahara Desertand brought about by the wind in Natal. The RPA can collectsamples of particles in bubbles at 3 km of altitude.

D. Control of Natural Resources

Another application that is currently in study is to useRPA to perform monitoring of reservoir levels (lakes, rivers,lagoons) and prevention of urban seizure.

IV. TECHNICAL AND SAFETY ASSESSMENT

The ease of maintenance and piloting of the RPA is seenas a positive point for use in the various operational missionsin Natal. In particular, the RPA used in the SpaceVANTproject (CLBI-UFRN) was adapted to the reality of the re-gion, featuring miniaturized hardware and software developby UFRN academics and CLBI researches to fulfill missionrequirements in the region. This platform is easy to remove,thus allowing quick replacement of the vehicle, if necessary.The RPA used features a gasoline engine instead of a glowmotor, due to the large emission of pollutants that could easilyadhere to the lenses of the cameras. Its autonomy of flight is ofapproximately 10 hours, thus making about 1000 km, enoughfor the scan of large areas of interest.

In addition, the RPA needs an aerodrome that, comparedto the others, is small in size and low cost, as well as safefor RPAs to take-off and to land near urban areas. It isimperative that the infrastructure be capable to guarantee theminimum operational and safety conditions. The absence ofthese infrastructures, or their precarious and inefficient exis-tence, would result in dangerous aircraft operations and, there-fore, impracticable. Currently, there is no regulatory standardfor the administration, construction, operation, maintenanceand design of aerodromes for RPAs in Brazil, thus bringingproblems such as the need to use conventional aerodromes,competing spaces and maneuvers with manned aircraft, andthe integration of RPAs In the Brazilian Air Space, which stillhas large regulatory barriers, lack of operational experienceand technological deficiencies [10].

Despite that, this type of aircraft itself is highly safe, es-pecially with the addition of emergency parachutes, developedand tested in the laboratories of the CLBI and the Supply andMaintenance Group (GSM), ALA 10 (an unity Brazilian AirForce - FAB), in Parnamirim/RN. These parachutes consist of adevice to be activated in case of a crash by separated indepen-dent on-board computers, with the main purpose of protectingpeople and the RPA itself from damages. The command for theactivation of these parachutes can be generated by the aircraft

itself, by analyzing various flight parameters such as enginerotation, inertial meters, voltage analyzers, altimeters, GPS,etc., and also by manual command from the Control Center.

V. INNOVATION CYCLE ASSESSMENT

One of the requirements for the generation of a database onthe operation of urban centers is the creation and developmentof a physical infrastructure that allows the collection andorganization of data and information, focusing on specificproblems of the city, robust and safe enough for people totrust [11]. Considering the population growth, the increase inthe demand of the counties added to the shortage of resources,the Brazilian cities currently face a contradictory set of factors.The scenario worsens when one does not have access to up-to-date data that can be used to develop an intelligent strategy thatmeets the demand created by population growth in cities. It isof extreme relevance the adhesion to the Information and Com-munication Technologies (ICTs) by the city administrators,with the objective of capturing information that can foment theprocess of management of the cities, promoting the integrationbetween government and population, thus contributing, withthe development of a functional city [11].

Based on this context, the use of RPA for the monitoring ofcities proves to be a valuable tool for the generation of data inreal time, since the daily action of these aircraft will allow thecollection of strategic data for an effective decision making,as well as being able to work in some of the key sectors of anintelligent city, such as health, public safety, urban mobility,sustainability and energy. Obviously, only data collection isnot enough for a city to be considered a smart city, it isnecessary to create ecosystems that allow the transformation ofthis data into useful information and open to society, as well asencouraging the active participation of the population togetherwith the actors of the Triple Helix. This entire ecosystemshould be protected by counties that understand the conceptof an intelligent city and adopt governance styles that arefavorable to the aforementioned aspects [11].

VI. CONCLUSION

This paper presented the Remotely Piloted Aircraft as afeature to the enhancement of smart cities. It is remarkablethe feasibility of its use as a tool to allow the consolida-tion of innovative environments, to encourage technologicaldevelopment and to the development of the smart cities. Acase study of the RPA of the SpaceVANT project appliedto the city of Natal / RN and its improvement as a smartcity was discussed. The polyvalence of these aircrafts willallow the emergence of a market focused on the developmentof new technologies based on the information provided bythe RPA. The public administration, in turn, will have aset of intelligent management tools in hand, thus allowingthe optimization of investments in strategic sectors and thetraceability of information about the city. Additionally, theScience and Technology Institutions (STIs) will benefit fromthe development of national technologies geared to the specificneeds of the region. The Triple Helix also emerges in thisscenario, with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte(University), Barreira do Inferno Launch Center (Government),as well as a Scientific, Technological and Innovation Institu-tions, may contribute to the use of its intellectual capital in

RPA research, development and innovation projects, by meansof financial support (or not), for a fixed term, under the termsof a contract or agreement [12]. The participation of Natalas ”Smart and Human City” will enable many companiesto become clients of the RPA project, contributing to theinnovation and enhancement of the INDUSTRY, third playerof the Triple Helix, in areas such as aerospace, informationtechnology, mechatronics, telecommunications, among others.In addition, the CLBI may allow the use of its laboratories,equipment, instruments, materials and other existing facilitiesin its dependency to enable the use of the RPA, provided that itdoes not interfere directly with its end-activity or conflict withit, thus contributing With the strengthening of the innovationecosystem.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The authors would like to thank the Federal Universityof Rio Grande do Norte and the Barreira do Inferno LaunchCenter for the support.

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