{"306821":{"#nid":"306821","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Testing UAV Sensors on the Cheap","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThis story\u0026nbsp;was\u0026nbsp;originally published in the\u003Cem\u003E\u0026nbsp;Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/gtalumnimag.com\/?p=46378\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EVol. 90, No. 2, 2014\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGot an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sensor payload in need of testing? Well, Georgia Tech is set to offer defense customers an experimental aircraft on which to place it\u2014at a fraction of the cost it would take to integrate that same payload on a conventional UAV.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new test bed is called the GTRI Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS). \u201cIt gives us the ability to offer proof of principle tests to customers at a price that\u2019s reasonable, at a schedule that\u2019s reasonable,\u201d says Mike Brinkmann, MS EE 91, principal research engineer for sensor packages for the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGAUSS is based on the Griffon Aerospace Outlaw ER test UAV, which Tech purchased from Griffon and subsequently modified. The test bed has a 16-foot wingspan and weighs about 140 pounds, with a 35-pound payload capacity. Under Georgia Tech\u2019s authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), GAUSS can operate at a maximum ceiling of 5,000 feet, but it is capable of flying higher.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome of the modifications GTRI researchers made to the Outlaw ER are immediately apparent. \u201cIn particular, we put pods on the wings to carry the radar system and power supply, and we made some modifications internally,\u201d says\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/team\/faculty\/heiges\u0022\u003EMike Heiges\u003C\/a\u003E, AE 85, MS AE 86, PhD AE 89, GTRI\u2019s principal aircraft research engineer for the project.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo prove it can test a variety of sensors on GAUSS, GTRI is integrating three different systems. The first is a visual light camera, the second is an RF signal detection package; and the third is a four-channel, side-looking radar designed to map the ground.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe radar is one of the first systems with these capabilities designed to be fitted on an aircraft as small as the GAUSS, and should be flying onboard it soon. \u201cThe two sensors that we have\u2014the signals recorder and also the radar\u2014we\u2019re hoping will open some doors for GTRI to conduct sponsored research with a number of customers that would like to have combinations or variations on those things,\u201d Brinkmann says.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHeiges adds that GRTI has an advantage over potential competitors because the Institute has authorizations from the FAA to allow it to fly the GAUSS at several locations around the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThat\u2019s a huge deal,\u201d Brinkmann says.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Many top defense technologies get their start in Tech\u2019s labs."}],"uid":"27255","created_gmt":"2014-07-03 10:44:23","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:41","author":"Josie Giles","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2014-07-03T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2014-07-03T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"306831":{"id":"306831","type":"image","title":"Mike Heiges (right) adjusts GTRI\u2019s Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS)","body":null,"created":"1449244668","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:57:48","changed":"1475895015","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:15","alt":"Mike Heiges (right) adjusts GTRI\u2019s Airborne Unmanned Sensor System (GAUSS)","file":{"fid":"199758","name":"gauss3_0.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gauss3_0_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/gauss3_0_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1544165,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/gauss3_0_0.jpg?itok=YaChp60H"}}},"media_ids":["306831"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/robotics.gatech.edu\/team\/faculty\/heiges","title":"Michael W. Heiges"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.gtri.gatech.edu\/casestudy\/flying-test-bed-aerial-platform-lightweight-sensors-UAVs-GAUSS","title":"Case Study: GAUSS"}],"groups":[{"id":"142761","name":"IRIM"}],"categories":[{"id":"152","name":"Robotics"}],"keywords":[{"id":"415","name":"Georgia Tech Research Institute"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"81491","name":"Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines (IRIM)"},{"id":"97161","name":"Michael W. Heiges"},{"id":"97151","name":"Mike Heiges"},{"id":"97141","name":"Outlaw ER"},{"id":"97131","name":"unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"},{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJosie Giles\u003Cbr \/\u003EIRIM Marketing Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003Ejosie@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}