Request for Proposal (Search & Rescue UAS)

Overview of Purpose of UAS

Unmanned aircraft systems have gradually been used for humanitarian work in disasters which usually strike with little or no advance warnings. The aftermath of such events often require time critical search and rescue efforts, which can be difficult in terms of accessibility to disaster zone for delivery of medical and logistic supplies, and continuous monitoring of the situation. According to Reich (2016), the total economic and human impact of worldwide disasters from 2002 to 2012 amounted to 1.2 million deaths and $1.7 trillion in damages. Therefore, with the increasing number of disaster occurrences around the world, possibly due to climate change, there is an urgent and paramount need to provide cost effective solutions for any disaster management situation.

The intended purpose of the UAS in this proposal is for a two-member crew team in first responder agencies such as Fire, Medical or Police departments to use it and aid search and rescue operations in any disaster situation. The UAS operation is to be carried out so as to provide updated aerial overview of the disaster zone, including the detection of human survivors, using on-board sensors. The data will be relayed wirelessly in real-time to the command station to allow the timely formulation of rescue actions.

Requirements

            The three major baseline requirements for the UAS include transportability and support equipment, air vehicle element, and payload.

Transportability & Support Equipment

• The whole system (including the case) should weigh no more than 30kg to allow two-man lifting.

• The case should not be more than 30 inches long by 15 inches wide in dimensions and have wheels with stainless steel bearings, double throw latches and retractable handles.

• The case used to hold all the components shall have individual compartments padded with reconfigurable expanded polyethylene foams (EPE) specifically cut out for the components.

• The case should be waterproof, dustproof and crush resistant.

• The case should be used as a ground control station, with incorporated power supplies switchable between international worldwide standard voltage ratings (120V to 240V) and plug types.

• The case should incorporate additional quick battery charging capabilities for at least two units of 5000mAh 4 cell lithium polymer (Lipo) batteries for air vehicle.

Air Vehicle Element

• Shall be able to fly at altitudes up to 500 feet above ground.

• Shall have a flight endurance of at least 40 minutes with maximum payload.

• Shall have an operational range of at least 2 km.

• Shall be able to vertical take-off and land, with stable GPS hovering in space of no more than vertical 0.2 meter and horizontal 0.5 meter tolerances.

• Shall be able to deploy into the air with GPS locked within 5 minutes upon power up.

• Shall be powered up using electrical power only and also provide power to payloads.

• Shall be able to perform autonomous waypoint flights, and return to home functions in cases of lost links and low battery.

• Shall be able to carry a payload of at least 7 kg.

• Shall be able to be reconfigured within 5 minutes to carry medical supplies of up to 2 kg.

 Payload

• Shall provide high definition (720p at 25frames/sec) day and night video and still image (at least 10Mpixels) capturing capability in all weather conditions and relay them to ground station in real time with lag of no more than 0.5 second.

• Shall be capable of infrared operation of up to 500 feet above ground level.

• Shall be capable of broadcasting audio messages from ground control station via an on-board speaker system of at least 50 dB at 10 meters’ distance between air vehicle and intended human receiver.

• Shall be able to operate using air vehicle power supply.

Testing & Development

            An acceptance test is to be carried out on the UAS system to ensure that it meets all baseline requirements, and to solve any associated technical issues with the supplier. According to Austin (2010), there are 10 phases to the development of a UAS. The air vehicle has to be designed and built whereas the payloads can be acquired commercially off-the-shelf and integrated into UAS. The development and testing process should take no more than one year from project conceptualization.

Figure 1. Testing and Development Schedule.

Testing and Acceptance

• Testing of case, air vehicle and incorporated payloads should be carried out in all weather conditions, whether simulated indoors or outdoors.

• All required power supplies are to be tested for functionality, accuracy and reliability.

• The UAS is to be operated to test its recovery mode in lost link by turning the radio transmitter off.

   References

Austin, R. (2010). Unmanned aircraft systems: UAVs design, development and deployment. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

Riech, L. (2016, January 26). How drones are being used in disaster management? Geo Awesomeness. Retrieved from http://geoawesomeness.com/drones-fly-rescue/