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

美国联邦航空管理局拨款270万，助力“无人机灾难应对和应急处理”项目

$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.

美国联邦航空管理局(FAA)从无人机研究款项中拨出共270万给五所大学，用于支持无人机技术应对灾难和应急处理研究项目。

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.

这些年来，无人机对于研究、救援、消防、洪灾区的探测及其他灾难应急处理起到了极大作用，可以说是各行各业里的无价之宝。如今，美国联邦航空管理局为各研究机关提供支持，研究关于如何更好发配及协调无人机应用于应急处理。

“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.

美国联邦航空管理局现任执行Billy Nolen表示，“在应急情况发生时，每分每秒都弥足珍贵。此次拨款能够使得无人机能够安全且快速地发配毫秒珍贵的应急场景。”

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

该研究将探讨如何利用无人机为应对不同自然灾害和人为灾害提供高效率且高效力的解决方案。对联邦机关及各州和当地灾难应对和应急组织的无人机操作者采取协调措施。

以下分别为被拨款的五所大学及拨款金额：

佛蒙特大学                              $1,195,000

阿拉巴马大学亨茨维尔分校                $828,070

新墨西哥州立大学                        $400,000

北卡罗来纳州立大学                       $200,000

堪萨斯州立大学                           $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在一次记者发布会上表示，“当前FAA无人机研究款项是美国UAS系统安全卓越安全联盟（ASSURE）的第三次拨款，该款项2022财年总共有20次拨款，总额为2100万美金。”

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卓越中心是帮助提升技术并为航空专家的下一代提供教育机会的六大机构之一。ASSURE发起的研究致力于促进无人机社区的稳健发展并融入国家航空界。

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.

这些最新拨款项目都接受了议会审议，支撑无人机在美国基础设施新项目DIIG法案的应用。双方对于无人机技术在灾难应对和基础设施建设的支撑，使得商用无人机的价值为业内甚至业外的人所看到。

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

工程师开发专用起落架，使无人机能够安全着陆于倾斜表面

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.

据New Atlas报道，致力于扩大无人机潜在着陆区的科学家们展示了一种新方法，使飞机能够在陡峭的斜坡上安全着陆。这项技术建立在该团队以前涉及墙壁和湖泊的工作基础上，可以使无人机在城市环境中更常见的表面上降落。

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.

在加拿大舍布鲁克大学机械工程师的领导下，这项研究是在同一团队之前展示的一些同样令人印象深刻的无人机着陆解决方案之后进行的。2017年，科学家们展示了一种可以在水上起飞和降落的固定翼无人机，它被设计为在湖泊之间跳跃，并在行驶中使用太阳能充电。

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.

同年晚些时候，该团队展示了另一架固定翼无人机，它在飞行过程中使用激光传感器探测迎面而来的墙壁。然后，它将向上倾斜，并使用微纤维“爪”抓住墙壁的粗糙表面和悬架来吸收撞击的动能。然后，无人机可以固定在垂直的墙壁上，直到是时候启动螺旋桨进行另一次飞行。

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.

舍布鲁克大学工程师发明了一款带有专用起落架的无人机，使其能够在诸如屋顶的倾斜表面安全着陆。大疆创新F450改进版则是采用超轻质摩擦减震器，减弱撞击动能，以此做到倾斜表面的起降。

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.

快速推力逆转以促使四旋翼无人机着陆于垂直表面。他们的一次试验中，无人机成功地着陆于60度的倾斜表面，速度达到每秒2.75米（9英尺/秒）。然而，如果使用250架无人机在半空中上演宝可梦秀，这个专用起落架是绝对不需要的。