Look up in the sky! It's a bird... it's a plane...
it's..... yet another drone plummeting to the Earth to meet its fiery
demise.
That about sums up an
article about
the problem of drone crashes that have been plaguing the U.S. military
since 2011. Causes of the crashes ranged from engine failures to communications
loss to plain ol' running out of fuel. As a result, the ground below becomes litter with pieces of
mangled metal that was once a mighty military bird of prey.
"a DoD survey showed that 57 percent of accidents
until 2005 were caused by flight control issues or engine or transmission
problems." source:
nbcnews.com
I
have to admit while I was reading the article my imagination began to run wild
as if I was suddenly hired on as the chief problem solver for the government
hand picked to resolve the problems they've been having with those pesky
drones. Just for kicks I put together a list of suggestions for the military to
help them fix the current drone problems, check it out below:
- STOVL
Anyone?- why has the
military somehow forgotten this technology when it comes to drones? As a
kid growing up my favorite fighter was the Harrier Jump Jet. It was love
at first sight when I saw how the plane could hover and land vertically.
To the best of my knowledge, the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter has replaced
my beloved Harrier, but after seeing it, it's safe to say I found a new love.
The F-35B uses STOVL (Short Take Off and
Vertical Landing) technology, which if I'm correct allows the pilot to
land from a vertical position; however, the plane must launch in the
traditional way. This is where the military should be focusing their
talent. Devise a way for drones to not only land from a vertical position
but also launch from a vertical position. Goodbye crash landings with this baby.
- Check Engine Light- We seem to overlook how smart our cars have become
over the decades. When our vehicle has a problem the mechanic connects a
computer to the car and the car tells it exactly what’s wrong (in many
instances). Why not take that concept and apply it to the drone? Maybe
implement some type of system that constantly probes all of the drone’s
systems and transmits that data back to its controllers in real time. The same system would act as an
early warning sign to inform the drone's operators that a failure is imminent giving them time to plan on an emergency landing.
- Alternative
energy sources- The article
mentioned a drone that had to be sacrificed when it ran out of fuel while
on a mission. Those days will be long gone if drones were equipped with two types of energy sources instead of only one. Taking yet another note from today's cars, drones could use fuel and electricity as its power sources. Following a person of interest but you're dangerously low on fuel? no problem... just switch over to the battery to continue on the mission. The beauty of using electricity is that the drone could use lightweight solar panels to recharge the unit and keep it going.
- Can you hear me now?- What’s all
this talk about loss of communications being a problem for drones? Why not look to Wi-Fi for help? Maybe equip drones with Wi-Fi antennas to switch over to wireless communications when satellite communications are down. How would it work? In theory, perhaps they could contain a device that would allow some drones to act as mobile hot spots which would connect allow the rogue drone to connect to the hot spot and 'phone home' sort of speak to a nearby field crew.
Just a few ideas to throw out into cyberland after reading the article. How did I do? Am I on to something or have I lost my mind, let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @ITSecPr0.
picture source: occupycorporatism.com
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