Question

The remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) industry in South Africa is expected to grow at faster rate not too distant future

Required: 1. Construct a discussion that details the developments as you generate five different business ideas, using Five 5,different techniques to take advantage of the opportunities that

RPAS technology presents in south Africa.

Answer 1

Any aircraft intended to be flown without a pilot on board is referred to in the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Doc 7300), signed at Chicago on 7 December 1944 and amended by the ICAO Assembly as a “pilotless aircraft”. Today we call these aircraft “unmanned” rather than “pilotless”. Unmanned aircraft (UA) include a broad spectrum from meteorological balloons that fly freely to highly complex aircraft piloted from remote locations by licensed aviation professionals. The latter are part of the category referred to as “remotely piloted aircraft” or RPA that operate as part of a system, a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS). RPAS are creating a new industry with large economic potential. They offer a vast range of capabilities and sophistication. Their associated technologies, designs, and operating concepts are evolving rapidly. It is within this context that States are being challenged with the safe and efficient integration of RPAS into environments shared by a highly regulated and well established manned aircraft industry.

• This concept of operations (CONOPS) aims to describe the operational environment of manned and unmanned aircraft thereby ensuring a common understanding of the challenges and how the subset that are remotely piloted can be expected to be accommodated and ultimately integrated into the airspace for international instrument flight rules (IFR) operations. It describes RPAS terms, unique attributes, challenges, and special considerations. In doing so, it provides a common view from which ICAO and individual States can prioritize and address needs associated with the introduction of RPA into their respective airspace. ICAO will use this CONOPS to inform the Air Navigation Commission, States and ICAO expert groups to scope proposed amendments to ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and Procedures for Air Navigation Services (PANS). As such, this document serves as a general framework to represent the perspective of stakeholders from Member States, including regulators, operators, airspace users, manufacturers, air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and aerodrome operators.

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2. EMERGENCY RESPONSE

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Innovations in camera technology have had a significant impact on the growing use of drones. UAVs outfitted with thermal imaging cameras have provided emergency response teams with an ideal solution for identifying victims who are difficult to spot with the naked eye.

In 2017, Land Rover partnered with the Austrian Red Cross to design a special operations vehicle with a roof-mounted, thermal imaging drone. The vehicle includes an integrated landing system, which allows the drone to securely land atop the vehicle while in motion. This custom Land Rover Discovery, dubbed “Project Hero,” hopes to save lives by speeding up response times.

Last year, drone manufacturer DJI launched an emergency response program that gives first responders access to some of the company’s drones and peripherals, as well as technical support and assistance. So far, DJI has partnered with fire departments in Los Angeles and Menlo Park, plus the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

Startup companies and universities are also designing systems intended for search and rescue. Flyability offers a collision-tolerant UAV designed to function in confined areas with limited lines of sight — environments often encountered by emergency response teams.

Additionally, Delft University of Technology has tested an ambulance drone that could deliver defibrillators on demand. By extending existing emergency infrastructure, drones may be able to dramatically increase survival rates in both rural and urban areas around the world.

3. HUMANITARIAN AID & DISASTER RELIEF

In addition to emergency response, drones have proved useful during times of natural disaster. In the aftermath of hurricanes and earthquakes, UAVs have been used to assess damage, locate victims, and deliver aid. And in certain circumstances, they are helping to prevent disasters altogether.

In 2017, drones were used to help restore power to areas damaged by Hurricane Harvey, as well as survey damage to flooded areas and assist in search and rescue efforts.

To help monitor and combat forest fires, surveillance drones outfitted with thermal imaging cameras are being deployed to detect abnormal forest temperatures. By doing so, teams are able to identify areas most prone to forest fires or identify fires just minutes after they begin.

Demand for this kind of technology is growing. In 2019, the Department of Defense made an official request for drones that can be deployed during a natural disaster to distribute food and water to affected areas.

4. CONSERVATION

Poaching and climate change have a dramatic impact on the health of wildlife worldwide. Thousands of species are estimated to go extinct each year, according to the World Wildlife Fund. To help combat this trend, conservationists are adopting innovative methods to protect and study our global ecosystems. In combination with geospatial imagery, drones are now used to monitor and track animals.

A team at Liverpool John Moores University’s School of Natural Sciences is building an autonomous drone system that can follow endangered species and transmit information about their well-being back to researchers.

DJI has worked within the conservation space, offering drone services to help teams to conduct research without disturbing natural habitats. The Ocean Alliance is an example of an organization that has used drones (such as the marine SnotBot) to collect samples — specifically, mucus from whales. In addition to facilitating research on ecosystems, drones can also allow conservationists to combat poachers.

5. DISEASE CONTROL

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Tracking animals also allows researchers to track disease. Drones with thermal imaging cameras have been used by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to track macaque movements in the province of Palawan in the Philippines — a region where malaria is an active threat.

The ability to follow these animals provided further insight into the possible movement of infectious disease and its jumps from animals to humans. In a similar vein, Microsoft is leveraging drone technology to capture and test mosquitoes for infectious disease. Ideally, this intelligence could be used to protect local residents, and in the future could help prevent epidemics before they begin.

Another illness being combated with the help of drones is schistosomiasis, a tropical disease caused by parasitic worms. A team of researchers made up of scientists from the University of Washington and Stanford pioneered an experimental method for tracking the spread of and predicting transmissions of schistosomiasis. Instead of using animals, the team’s approach uses drone and satellite imagery to track the presence of “unrooted, floating vegetation” where the snails that transmit the disease make their habitats — finding these sites through drone imagery lets those researchers know what areas are at higher risk for schistosomiasis infections.

6. HEALTHCARE

Modern medicine has had a profound impact on preventing disease, increasing life expectancy, and raising general standards of living. However, many rural regions around the world lack access to high quality healthcare. While medical supplies can be delivered by traditional means, certain circumstances call for quick access to drugs, blood, and medical technology — a need drones could fulfill.

In 2018, WakeMed Health & Hospital in North Carolina partnered with the state’s department of transportation on a pilot program to test out the practicality of using to drones to deliver medical packages between hospital campuses.

After a series of successful tests, WakeMed formed a partnership with the California-based drone manufacturer Matternet and later with UPS to further develop the hospital’s drone delivery efforts.

One well-funded venture-backed medical delivery company is Zipline International. Zipline, which has raised $237M in total disclosed funding, offers delivery drones in rural areas throughout Africa. Flirtey is another startup in the delivery space that is looking to transport medicine.

7. AGRICULTURE

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Farmers across the world are continuously striving to reduce costs and expand yields.

With the use of drones, agricultural workers are able to gather data, automate redundant processes, and improve efficiency.

Raptor Maps, for example, is an agricultural analytics startup that relies on drones to help farmers better predict their potential harvest.

Another area where drones are gaining traction is the cultivation of crops— a process that can be repetitive, time-consuming, and detail oriented. To help address this, equipment manufacturer Case IH has built an autonomous tractor, while Abundant Robotics is developing a solution for autonomously picking produce. Planting seeds can be an equally energy-intensive process, but companies like DroneSeed, which raised $5.1M from Social Capital in 2017, are looking to make the task easier by using drones for airborne seed dispersal.

In a research capacity, drones have also been used to pollinate flowers. This approach could one day prove helpful in compensating for the declining bee population.

8. WEATHER FORECASTING

Scientists are leveraging new forms of hardware and software for data collection to help study the climate and better predict future changes to global weather systems. Today, most data is collected through stationary structures or captured with geospatial imaging solutions. Drones, however, offer a versatile option that can physically follow weather patterns as they develop.

In addition to aerial vehicles, water-based unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) are changing the way data is gathered. Saildrone has developed an autonomous sailboat that collects oceanic and atmospheric data from the ocean surface.

A Saildrones pilot project, being run in collaboration with the University of Washington Atmospheric Scientists, is now active off the West Coast near the Bay Area. As part of the research, 6 of the company’s drones are autonomously collecting data off the shore. The scientists behind the project hope that the data collected by the drones will help make weather forecasts more accurate.

9. MARITIME

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Navigating oceans and ports requires an immense amount of expertise and labor from the estimated 1.65M people serving on international merchant ships today. But with increasing amounts of oceanic data and innovations in autonomy, unmanned marine vehicles could become the standard for maritime shipping. Rolls-Royce has already completed a number of trials with unmanned vessels controlled remotely.

Inspecting ships is also an important part of the industry. While Rolls-Royce plans to use smaller UAVs to help inspect ships above the surface, startup Orobotix has designed an underwater drone used to inspect hulls from below.

Drones are already being used in countries like the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway to find ships committing emissions infractions. The unmanned vehicles can travel miles out from port to detect emissions and identify offenders.

10. WASTE MANAGEMENT

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Recycling and biodegradation have improved global waste management. However, innovations in waste collection are still emerging, including drones that have help to clean oceans. RanMarine operates a Roomba-like unmanned marine vehicle used to collect waste in ports and harbors, while RedZone Robotics focuses on robots used to help maintain systems for wastewater management.

11. ENERGY

While alternative energy has become increasingly popular, fossil fuels still remain a key energy source for the world. Inspection of the infrastructure used to extract, refine, and transport oil and gas is an important part of the industry and often needed to ensure compliance with regulations and standards.

With the use of drones, much of this inspection work can be done remotely and safely. Using specialized thermal sensors, some drones can find leaks faster than a human inspector, while onboard high-resolution cameras enable some issues to be diagnosed remotely. Sky-Futures offers UAVs for oil and gas inspection, and is used by many of the world’s largest oil companies to inspect offshore rigs. The company was acquired by Scotland-based maintenance company ICR in 2019. SkyX Systems uses drones for pipeline assessment, while Cyberhawk Innovations offers solutions for both fossil fuel and alternative energy providers.

Another area where drones have shown promise is in setting up new sites for the production of energy. Drones that survey areas and gather topographic detail can be used to help oil & gas companies identify new drill sites, or they can be used by solar utilities to design configurations for new arrays.

12. MINING

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Mining is a capital-intensive venture that requires constant measurement and assessment of physical material. Stockpiles of ore or rock or minerals are difficult to measure. But with unique cameras, drones are able to capture volumetric data on stockpiles and survey mining operations from the air. This reduces the risks associated with having surveyors on the ground.

Airobotics, which has raised more than $90M in disclosed equity funding, provides an industrial grade on-site drone solution used by mining companies for measuring materials, surveying operations, and boosting security. The system is fully autonomous and stored in on-site housing that can autonomically swap cameras and batteries.

Mining is also being disrupted by autonomous vehicles, such as the unmanned ground vehicle designed by Komatsu.

13. CONSTRUCTION PLANNING

One of the most common commercial use cases for drones is construction planning and management. Software developers have created solutions that analyze construction progress with regularly captured data. While ground surveying is still a critical part of construction planning and monitoring, the use of drone data has become increasingly important.

Camera technology is used to monitor buildings and gauge topography and soil type throughout the construction lifecycle. Skycatch offers these services in a monthly software subscription that is designed to pair with a number of UAVs. Dronomy offers a similar suite of software intended to help drones enhance project monitoring and site management.

14. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

While drones serve a useful purpose in construction planning and management, they also have the potential to be used to develop physical infrastructure.

ETH Zürich, a prominent university in Switzerland, partnered with roboticist Raffaello D’Andrea and architecture firm Gramazio Kohler Architects to create a structure built entirely by UAVs.

By programming the drones to lift and stack thousands of polymer bricks, the team was able to create a geometric structure nearly 10 meters high. The finished product serves as a concept for a “vertical village” that would employ a similar structure, which would be built by larger drones.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation began studying the potential of drones to make the department’s work more efficient in 2015, and found that using drones for inspections of state infrastructure helped the state save about 40% on associated costs.

By 2018, around 80% of state departments of transportation were utilizing drones, according to a survey conducted by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. Uses include monitoring the progress of highway construction projects, surveying new sites, inspecting bridges, emergency response, and more.

15. INSURANCE

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Insurance inspections are a core area where insurance companies can leverage drones. Traditionally, inspectors and assessors for property insurance would scale structures to conduct manual inspections of properties, but now drones can provide detailed assessments with high-resolution cameras.

While damaged or defective property still requires the attention of a physical inspection, UAVs are beginning to have an impact there as well.

Drone companies focused on the insurance industry include Kespry, which offers services like roof inspection for claims and has partnered with Farmers Insurance to scale its offerings in the insurance space.

16. REALTY

Drones have been beneficial in capturing pictures of high-value properties, showing that even the real estate industry can be upended by drone technology. By 2016, real estate was already reported to be one of the most active industries when it came to adopting drone technology.

DroneBase is one company that offers on-demand drone photography for a number of different industries, including residential and commercial real estate.

While low-cost aerial photography is being leveraged to take images of a property’s exterior, home interiors are also being captured by small, agile UAVs. Zaw Studios, a media company based outside of Los Angeles, uses drones to capture immersive 360-degree photographs and videos within large homes. The finished product provides potential buyers with a perspective that mimics a physical walk-through.

For property developers, drones can be a useful tool for understanding how to better outfit a property with the views, amenities, and features. Being able to quickly scan a property from all angles can allow a better ability to design a structure for the landscape in which it sits.