Obstacle Avoidance in the UAV Market

With BVLOS and autonomy becoming increasingly prevalent in the UAV industry, obstacle avoidance has become crucial for the success and safety of drone systems. Obstacle avoidance provides a SECOND SAFETY NET, enabling increased success in highly complex missions. In both personal and professional UAV systems, obstacle avoidance reduces the chance for equipment damage and liability risks while also enabling autonomous and BVLOS flight in highly populated and dense areas. 

Some UAV markets that will benefit significantly from obstacle avoidance are:

• Inspection

• Smart Agriculture

• Drone Delivery 

What all of these markets have in common is the need for a lightweight, affordable, and reliable sensor that can easily be integrated into their system and support them with obstacle avoidance and BVLOS flight.

Inspection Drones

Drone inspection continues to grow in both prominence and importance in the UAV industry. Drone inspection allows for safe, high-quality aerial data of desired foundations, reducing personnel risks and costs. Some examples of drone inspection include power line inspection, roof inspection, industrial equipment inspection, infrastructure inspection, and much more. Some inspection sites are difficult or impossible to reach for humans, and drones enable the safe and reliable inspection of these formerly unreachable areas. 

During inspection, drone systems are moving through tight and confined spaces, with potential hazards populated throughout. Potential obstacles to avoid during drone inspection include:

• Nearby infrastructure

• Power lines

• Nearby vegetation

• Buildings

Smart Agriculture Drones

Smart agriculture has proven to be an extremely beneficial improvement to the agriculture market. Smart agriculture applications, such as water spraying or monitoring, have allowed for extensive, labor-intensive tasks to be completed quickly and efficiently utilizing an autonomous aircraft, or in some cases, a fleet of autonomous aircraft. Smart agriculture introduces a complex environment to UAV systems that makes on-board sensors, such as an obstacle avoidance sensor, critical. Agricultural environments are dynamic and always changing. As seasons change, the surrounding vegetation terrain evolves, resulting in the necessity for precise and reliable sensing.

Another factor to account for in smart agriculture is the type of sensor being used and how it reacts to the surrounding environment. During smart agriculture applications, many different environmental conditions can arise, resulting in potential erroneous readings from various on-board sensors. A radar-based sensor, such as the soon-to-be-released OA-Lite radar, can withstand and provide reliable data during harsh weather conditions, such as dust, fog, rain, etc. Potential obstacles to avoid during smart agriculture applications include:

• Trees

• Branches

• Vegetation

• Power lines

• Farm equipment

• Poles

• Other UAV systems during swarm operations

Delivery Drones

Drone delivery systems offer significant advantages to the commercial delivery market. Drone delivery enables timely deliveries, accessibility to areas that are difficult to reach via car, reduced environmental impact, and lower operational costs. One example of a drone delivery system is a last-mile delivery system. Last-mile drone delivery allows for the autonomous, aerial transport of consumer packages directly from the dedicated delivery warehouse to the consumer’s doorstep. During last-mile delivery, the UAV system will be operating autonomously in a BVLOS environment, resulting in a critical reliance on the on-board sensors. Accurate landing performance is critical during last-mile delivery to prevent damage and ensure the safety of everyone nearby. Of those sensors, one of the most important is an obstacle avoidance sensor. 

During time-critical deliveries, such as the delivery of medical supplies, harsh weather and low-visibility conditions can be encountered. During these scenarios, radar-based sensors, such as Ainstein’s OA-Lite, prove invaluable. Radar’s all-weather, day-and-night performance reliability allows for crucial missions to be completed efficiently, regardless of environmental conditions or time of day.

Potential obstacles to avoid during drone delivery include:

• Trees

• Vegetation 

• Power lines

• Houses/Buildings

• Cars

• Yard equipment

• People

• Animals

Click on the links here to join the waitlist or learn more about our Obstacle Avoidance radars, the OA-Lite or OA-Pro. You can also reach our Sales & Technical Solutions Engineers at sales@ainstein.ai.