Post by dgriffin on Jul 23, 2009 20:10:54 GMT -5
Kansas State's Unmanned Aircraft Gets Flight Clearance
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Imagine a fire, a flood, a tornado.
Just hours later, a small unmanned aircraft buzzes around above, using infrared technology to search for signs of life in the destroyed homes and schools.
It signals relief teams, sending them straight to those buried under the debris in time to save more lives, faster.
At Kansas State University-Salina, technology like this is moving rapidly toward reality.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a certificate of authorization to the campus to fly the Aerosonde, an unmanned aerial vehicle, over Crisis City, an emergency response training area near Salina.
Crisis City was previously off-limits to K-State aviation because it was unrestricted public airspace, said Josh Brungardt, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program manager at K-State-Salina.
"That's what K-State's really concentrated on; this is a stepping stone," he said. "Now it gives us the ability to apply for emergency certificates of authorization for different locations."
Brungardt said the aircraft has a video camera onboard linked to an operating system on the ground, which will be housed in a remodeled building on the Salina campus.
The remodel should be completed by the end of August. The building will also contain labs, classrooms and highly advanced aviation technology for students' use.
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534600,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r4:c0.037373:b26640410:z0
Crisis City, huh? Why are my eyebrows raising and I'm getting a chilling effect? New and better surveillance methods seem to pop up every week.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Imagine a fire, a flood, a tornado.
Just hours later, a small unmanned aircraft buzzes around above, using infrared technology to search for signs of life in the destroyed homes and schools.
It signals relief teams, sending them straight to those buried under the debris in time to save more lives, faster.
At Kansas State University-Salina, technology like this is moving rapidly toward reality.
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a certificate of authorization to the campus to fly the Aerosonde, an unmanned aerial vehicle, over Crisis City, an emergency response training area near Salina.
Crisis City was previously off-limits to K-State aviation because it was unrestricted public airspace, said Josh Brungardt, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) program manager at K-State-Salina.
"That's what K-State's really concentrated on; this is a stepping stone," he said. "Now it gives us the ability to apply for emergency certificates of authorization for different locations."
Brungardt said the aircraft has a video camera onboard linked to an operating system on the ground, which will be housed in a remodeled building on the Salina campus.
The remodel should be completed by the end of August. The building will also contain labs, classrooms and highly advanced aviation technology for students' use.
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,534600,00.html?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a16:g2:r4:c0.037373:b26640410:z0
Crisis City, huh? Why are my eyebrows raising and I'm getting a chilling effect? New and better surveillance methods seem to pop up every week.