{"id":622,"date":"2023-11-17T04:13:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T04:13:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/?p=622"},"modified":"2023-11-17T04:53:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T04:53:45","slug":"reliability-and-safety-must-beat-costs-savings-in-the-uav-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/reliability-and-safety-must-beat-costs-savings-in-the-uav-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Reliability and Safety Must Beat Costs Savings in the UAV Sector"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As is the case with many emerging and new technologies that become quickly and widely adopted, regulations surrounding them tend to be slow and struggle to catch up. There are&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ieeexplore.ieee.org\/document\/8695695\/footnotes#footnotes\">no overarching standardized policies or guidelines<\/a>&nbsp;that govern the safe use and operation of civilian drones. Some regulations are also hard to enforce (how to you ensure that every civilian user keeps their drone below a certain altitude?).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Failure is very much an option<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although comprehensive, global data is not easily available, there are some statistics from which we can extrapolate valuable information. For example, according to FAA, almost 5,000 incidents were&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.insurancejournal.com\/news\/national\/2017\/12\/08\/473529.htm\">reported between 2014 and 2017<\/a>. But there are also detailed statistics available about military drone accidents. For example, between 2009 and 2018, there were&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dronewars.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/DW-Accidents-WEB.pdf\">250 military UAV accidents<\/a>&nbsp;around the world. Their causes were documented and inform us that most of the crashes happened when the UAV was in the air due to engine or mechanical failures.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A 2021 paper on the subject was even more specific, listing the main&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/21\/24\/8253\">causes of UAV accidents and incidents<\/a>:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Pilot\u2019s loss of awareness of the UAV&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Component failures&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Partial failure or loss of navigation system&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improper structural integrity&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Turbulence&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collisions with obstacles and barriers&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three of these (marked in bold) are linked to the mechanical reliability of the machine.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And this is the crux of the matter. Pilot error and\/or collisions are something that UAV designers and manufacturers can\u2019t really fix directly. But component failure is something they can address, thereby making UAVs safer and more reliable.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Complications<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The various uses for UAVs and their flight parameters complicate matters further. For any possible flight there are, among others, different:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>conditions&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>environments&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>altitudes&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>pilots&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>sensors&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>payloads&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To allow UAVs to perform optimally under any of those conditions, their components are becoming more complex and the number of parts and lines of software increases. This makes it more challenging to test and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/epropelled.com\/article\/ensuring-uav-reliability-through-testing\/\">ensure reliable operation<\/a>. New technologies keep being developed, promising improved performance and prompting an arms race of sorts among manufacturers.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>For example:&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>New cooling technology can enable UAVs to fly higher in thinner air where cooling is a challenge.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improved thrust-per-weight ratio can help UAVs meet more challenging mission parameters.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Smarter systems that use standards-based CAN provide access to all sensor data, helping users adjust and optimize performance.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are techniques that extend the life of bearings&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High temperature sensors can prevent windings from burning up&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>High temperature magnets in the motor will prevent demagnetization due to heat&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allowing for higher voltages in case of voltage spikes can protect the drive system&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bringing these (and other) options to market and ensuring that they are thoroughly tested and available to manufacturers can help with reliability problems. (If you have any questions about any of the above solutions, you can\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/contact-us\/\">contact us<\/a>\u00a0and we will be happy to chat.)\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Keep on flying<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reliability of the UAV overall\u00a0mechanical system and its components\u00a0is not only tied to safety but also to overall performance, availability, and therefore, user satisfaction. That doesn\u2019t only mean civilian users. Companies and organizations that increasingly adopt drones (whether it\u2019s delivery, entertainment, science, or military) have to rely on their machines to conduct their business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What\u2019s more, this is a self-propelling (pun very much intended) success story. The more reliable the drones are and the more flight time they have, the more they will be used and relied on by businesses and civilian customers alike.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With the technology continuously making strides, it is worth to invest in high-quality stronger materials, improved systems, and better reliability because it\u2019s possible for drones to:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fly for longer,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/2022\/04\/11\/business\/amazons-drone-delivery-program-is-hit-by-crashes-safety-concerns\/\">Be safer<\/a>, and&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fly more (with a growth from 90% to 95% availability).&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In fact, not only is it possible, it is necessary and the\u00a0technology exists\u00a0to make that happen. It is more than worth it to invest in reliability because the alternative is not only unsafe, it\u2019s bad for business.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As is the case with many emerging and new technologies that become quickly and widely adopted, regulations surrounding them tend to be slow and struggle to catch up. There are&nbsp;no overarching standardized policies or guidelines&nbsp;that govern the safe use and operation of civilian drones. Some regulations are also hard to enforce (how to you ensure [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=622"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":639,"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622\/revisions\/639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dezvolta.in\/epropelled\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}