FAA Drone Research Awards: $2.7 Million for Disaster Preparedness, Emergency Response

美國聯邦航空管理局撥款270萬，助力“無人機災難應對和應急處理”項目

$2.7 million has been granted to 5 universities in FAA drone research awards, which will support work on leveraging drone technology for disaster preparedness and emergency response.

美國聯邦航空管理局(FAA)從無人機研究款項中撥出共270萬給五所大學，用于支持無人機技術應對災難和應急處理研究項目。

For years now, drones have proven to be invaluable in search and rescue, firefighting, mapping of flood areas, and other disaster response efforts.  Now, the FAA is supporting research institutions as they study how best to deploy and coordinate drone use in emergencies.

這些年來，無人機對于研究、救援、消防、洪災區的探測及其他災難應急處理起到了極大作用，可以說是各行各業里的無價之寶。如今，美國聯邦航空管理局為各研究機關提供支持，研究關于如何更好發配及協調無人機應用于應急處理。

“Every second counts in an emergency, and this funding will allow drones to safely and more quickly deploy in moments when minutes matter,” said Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen.

美國聯邦航空管理局現任執行Billy Nolen表示，“在應急情況發生時，每分每秒都彌足珍貴。此次撥款能夠使得無人機能夠安全且快速地發配毫秒珍貴的應急場景。”

The research will explore the use of drones in providing effective and efficient responses to different natural and human-made disasters. It will address coordination procedures among drone operators from federal agencies as well as state and local disaster preparedness and emergency response organizations. The five universities and their award amounts are:

University of Vermont                              $1,195,000

University of Alabama Huntsville                   $828,070

New Mexico State University                       $400,000

North Carolina State University                    $200,000

Kansas State University                              $145,000

該研究將探討如何利用無人機為應對不同自然災害和人為災害提供高效率且高效力的解決方案。對聯邦機關及各州和當地災難應對和應急組織的無人機操作者采取協調措施。

以下分別為被撥款的五所大學及撥款金額：

佛蒙特大學                              $1,195,000

阿拉巴馬大學亨茨維爾分校                $828,070

新墨西哥州立大學                        $400,000

北卡羅來納州立大學                       $200,000

堪薩斯州立大學                           $145,000

The current FAA drone research awards are the third round of Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE) grants, “which brings the total to 20 grants valued at $21 million for Fiscal Year 2022,” says an FAA press release.

FAA在一次記者發布會上表示，“當前FAA無人機研究款項是美國UAS系統安全卓越安全聯盟（ASSURE）的第三次撥款，該款項2022財年總共有20次撥款，總額為2100萬美金。”

The ASSURE Center of Excellence is one of six that the agency has established to help advance technology and educate the next generation of aviation professionals. Research conducted through ASSURE is focused on helping the drone community safely grow and integrate into the nation’s airspace.

ASSURE卓越中心是幫助提升技術并為航空專家的下一代提供教育機會的六大機構之一。ASSURE發起的研究致力于促進無人機社區的穩健發展并融入國家航空界。

These latest grants follow a Congressional proposal to support the use of drones in new US infrastructure projects, the DIIG Act.  As bipartisan support for leveraging drone technology for disaster response and infrastructure demonstrates, the value of commercial drones is finally becoming clear – even outside of the drone industry.

這些最新撥款項目都接受了議會審議，支撐無人機在美國基礎設施新項目DIIG法案的應用。雙方對于無人機技術在災難應對和基礎設施建設的支撐，使得商用無人機的價值為業內甚至業外的人所看到。

Engineers Develop Drone with Specialized Landing Gear That Enables it to Touch Down Safely on Angled Surfaces

工程師開發專用起落架，使無人機能夠安全著陸于傾斜表面

According to New Atlas, scientists who are committed to expanding potential drone landing areas present a new way, making drones able to safely land on steep inclines. This technology, based on their past experience involving tests on walls and lakes, enables drones to touch down on the surface that commonly exists in cities.

據New Atlas報道，致力于擴大無人機潛在著陸區的科學家們展示了一種新方法，使飛機能夠在陡峭的斜坡上安全著陸。這項技術建立在該團隊以前涉及墻壁和湖泊的工作基礎上，可以使無人機在城市環境中更常見的表面上降落。

Under the leadership of mechanical engineers from University of Sherbrooke, the research was conducted with some impressive drone landing solutions laying the foundation. In 2017, scientists showed a type of fix-winged UAVs that can take off and land on the waters. They were designed to hop between lakes and charged by solar energy in the midst of driving.

在加拿大舍布魯克大學機械工程師的領導下，這項研究是在同一團隊之前展示的一些同樣令人印象深刻的無人機著陸解決方案之后進行的。2017年，科學家們展示了一種可以在水上起飛和降落的固定翼無人機，它被設計為在湖泊之間跳躍，并在行駛中使用太陽能充電。

Later in the same year, this team presented another fix-winged drone, which utilizes laser sensor to detect walls when flying. It will tilt upward and touch the rough surface with its micro-fibre “claws” and absorb kinetic energy by the suspension. Also, this kind of drones can fix on steep walls until it should activate the propeller to start flight again.

同年晚些時候，該團隊展示了另一架固定翼無人機，它在飛行過程中使用激光傳感器探測迎面而來的墻壁。然后，它將向上傾斜，并使用微纖維“爪”抓住墻壁的粗糙表面和懸架來吸收撞擊的動能。然后，無人機可以固定在垂直的墻壁上，直到是時候啟動螺旋槳進行另一次飛行。

University of Sherbrooke engineers have developed a drone with specialized landing gear that enables it to touch down safely on angled surfaces like rooftops. The modified DJI F450 drone does this by using extremely lightweight friction shock absorbers that are designed to absorb kinetic energy from impact.

舍布魯克大學工程師發明了一款帶有專用起落架的無人機，使其能夠在諸如屋頂的傾斜表面安全著陸。大疆創新F450改進版則是采用超輕質摩擦減震器，減弱撞擊動能，以此做到傾斜表面的起降。

Rapid thrust reversal then kick in to enable the quadcopter drone to land at steep inclines if necessary. During one of their tests, it managed to land at a 60° angle and at speeds of up to 2.75 meters per second (9 ft/s). However, if you’re using 250 drones to put on a Pokemon show in mid-air, this specialized landing gear most certainly won’t be needed.

快速推力逆轉以促使四旋翼無人機著陸于垂直表面。他們的一次試驗中，無人機成功地著陸于60度的傾斜表面，速度達到每秒2.75米（9英尺/秒）。然而，如果使用250架無人機在半空中上演寶可夢秀，這個專用起落架是絕對不需要的。