"Flying Robots" Design Summary & Analysis (Draft 3)

How Flying Robots Might Prevent Illegal Deforestation

MEC1281

Design Summary & Analysis

Draft #3

By: Nur Sabryna

22 February 2021

In the article “How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation”, (Peck, 2012) mentioned the purpose, functionality and features of quadrotors, acting as a solution to counter the unlawful environmental activities in the rainforest.

According to University of Pennsylvania deputy dean, Vijay Kumar, these intelligent “tiny, silent guardians of the rainforest” were programmed to maneuver independently and gather live documentation of the environment, providing advanced feedback to illegal deforestation. On top of their miniature size, these flying robots were equipped with “little rotor blades'' for easy drifting into a controlled flight path. Furthermore, they were capable to map out the environment using their onboard camera, laser rangefinder and laser scanner. Quadrotors were also programmed to command at a rate of 600 times a second with the built-in processor, yielding a quicker reaction to any difference in their surroundings. Hence, a quadrotor possessed great agility, stability and control to navigate through the rainforest with respect to these features.

Despite the quadrotors' inability to communicate as a team, their indirect connection within one another was not a concern for them to successfully coordinate though a task.

Although Peck addressed that quadrotors were deemed as valuable bots which guards the rainforest from human pollution, there is insufficient evidence regarding the quadrotors' ability to work as a team in stopping illegal activities in the rainforest.

Firstly, there were no applications of the quadrotors teaming up together to stop illegal crimes in the rainforest. In the TED talk, Kumar mentioned how the robots could "autonomously build cubic structures" with respect to their programmed algorithm. Additionally, quadrotors were accurate in maintaining their group formations, ranging from a planar to a three-dimensional formation. However, these information were not sufficient in justifying how the bots' could function as a group to stop the unlawful acts in the rainforest. Comparing the quadrotors' application with the Indian Army UAVs, the Indian Army specifically showcased how the drones autonomously act together in a warfare environment, where "weapons deployed to accomplish a shared objective" would be altered as they went ahead into an enemy territory (Desk, 2021). Unfortunately, in this case, there was still no information on how the team of quadrotors could work together to stop the crimes in the rainforest.

Secondly, quadrotors were less agile when they were in a group. According to Kumar in his TED talk, these flying robots were able to increase their payload-carrying capacity when they were in a group formation. However, the downside of this was that inertia essentially escalates with added payloads, hence producing less angular acceleration while moving. "Flight time is guaranteed to be reduced when it's carrying extra weight" and movements would be restricted as the "upward thrust is affected" (Hayley, 2016). Eventually, this would make the quadrotors less efficient in its relaying of the carried product from one place to another. This lead to a gap on how the quadrotors could work as a team in the context of the rainforest.

Lastly, quadrotors were ineffective of monitoring the rainforest at night. Even if they could detect illegal activities as a team in the rainforest, they did not have the proper functions or features to be efficient during their patrol at night. The designers should consider implementing additional features such as thermographic cameras or microphones during the bots' night patrol. According to Judd (2018), thermographic cameras provide "high-contrast thermal imagery for improved detection", making them a "critical tool" in searching any persons of interest especially when there is limited visibility. Additionally, microphones could be used to listen for any suspicious foreign sounds in the rainforest. Since quadrotors could effectively be functioning as a group during night time, the efficiency of their response in detecting illegal activities would be maximised.

In conclusion, the quadrotor has high potential in keeping the rainforest safe from illegal deforestation through its surveillance. However, more considerations should be focused on how they could act against the threats as a team. 

References:

Desk, W. (2021, January 15). Why Indian Army's Drone Swarm Demo is Milestone in 'Disruption in Warfare'. Retrieved from https://www.theweek.in/news/india/2021/01/15/why-indian-army-drone-swarm-demo-is-milestone-in-disruption-in-warfare.html

Hayley. (2016, June 7) Understanding Drone Payloads. Retrieved from https://www.coptrz.com/understanding-drone-payloads/

Judd, K. (2018, June) Thermal Camera-Equipped UAVs Spot Hard-to-Find Subjects. Retrieved from https://www.photonics.com/Articles/Thermal_Camera-Equipped_UAVs_Spot_Hard-to-Find/a63435

Kumar, V. (n.d) Transcript of "robots that fly ... and cooperate". Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/vijay_kumar_robots_that_fly_and_cooperate/transcript

Peck, M. (2012) How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2012/03/20/flying-robots-deforestation/

"Flying Robots" Design Summary and Analysis (Draft 2)

The article “How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation” (2012) mentioned the purpose, features and efficiency of quadrotors, mainly focusing on them being “sentinels of crucial environmental protection”. According to University of Pennsylvania deputy dean, Vijay Kumar, he came up with this solution to support and aid relief operations. The article states that these “miniature flying robots” were programmed to inspect the surroundings of the rainforest automatically, providing advanced feedback for unlicensed activities made to the environment. Furthermore, quadrotors were equipped with “little rotor blades'' for easy gliding action, and the programmed commands on the “onboard processor” would call for immediate response to any difference in their surroundings. The article highlighted the robots’ ability to efficiently function without human supervision, which yields an independent and productive army to reduce damage to the ecosystem. However, a quadrotor is only able to function by itself, and coordination between the robots might not be effective. Hence, while the article claimed that quadrotors were deemed as valuable bots which guards the rainforest from human pollution, the communication aspect of them to work as a team is compromised.

Quadrotors are designed to function without any human aid. In Brazil, drones are being deployed as surveillance to detect illegal drug trafficking and other crimes against nature. They programmed the robots to have the same archetype and less supervision from humans. Depending on how large the forest is, the drones can be deployed in a bigger scale accordingly. Just like a swarm of bees, they possess the same motive as one another to prevent midair collisions while moving around the forest. With well equipped processors and design, these Quadrotors imitate the movements humans without direct communication with each other and serve their purpose to protect the nature. 

 

Like a potent robot of convenience and sheer proficiency, drone technology caters to the wide operations of the forest ecosystem to help maintain the balance of biodiversity. Reinforcing the virtues of nature, drone application in forestry has widened the scope of improvement, and the prospect of advancements throughout. Studies have shown that these flying bots “have potential for post-fire recovery monitoring and forest protection... especially in difficult topographic settings” (Cruz, Eckert, Meneses, & Martínez, 2016; Ollero & Merino, 2006). Regrettable to mention, but one of the greatest dangers of forests are the liabilities and perils to wildlife and biodiversity. Embracing its association with flora and fauna, forests must be monitored to ensure the protection of the same. With the help of drones and UASs, the balance of the ecosystem can be maintained, to better degrees. Aerial imagery, mapping, and data processing as performed by the AI-powered drones express endangerment alerts, scan for potential threats to wildlife, and so on. Time-critical results help to validate data and provide relief and medication in worsened conditions.

 

The introduction of Quadrotors will play a large role to protect the forest. The functions of these drones are designed to scan through forest canopies with ease and prevent collision with each other. Quadrotors, in this realm, push the boundaries of forest cultivation and maintenance, redeeming wildlife and vegetation, while also monitoring risks to prevent deforestation.Menacing as they are, forest fires owe their devastating nature to more than one cause. By their speed and precision, these tiny robots can be used to scan the areas spanning the forests for potential threats of fires. With the adoption of drones, forestry can witness a high cascade of improvement and growth. As a means of wildlife monitoring and biodiversity checking, it canprove to be highly resourceful at random times of distress and danger, which are frequent occurrences in forest ecosystems. 

References

Cruz, H., Eckert, M., Meneses, J., & Martínez, J.F. (2016). Efficient forest fire detection index for application in unmanned aerial systems (UASs). Sensors, 16(6), 893. [Crossref]

Habitamu Taddese Berie & Ingunn Burud (2018) Application of unmanned aerial vehicles in earth resources monitoring: focus on evaluating potentials for forest monitoring in Ethiopia, European Journal of Remote Sensing, 51:1, 326-335, DOI: 10.1080/22797254.2018.1432993 

Peck, M. (2012) How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2012/03/20/flying-robots-deforestation/

“Flying Robots” Design Summary & Analysis (Draft 1)

The article “How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation” (2012) mentioned the purpose, features and effectiveness of quadrotors, mainly focused on them being “sentinels of crucial environmental protection”. These “miniature flying robots” were programmed to inspect the surroundings of the rainforest independently, providing advanced feedback for unlicensed activities made to the environment. The article highlighted the robots’ ability to efficiently function together as a team without a need for any communication, which yields a systematic and productive army despite any circumstances. Furthermore, quadrotors were equipped with “little rotor blades'' for easy gliding action, and the programmed commands on the “onboard processor” would call for immediate response to any difference in their surroundings. 

While the article claimed that quadrotors were deemed as valuable bots which guards the rainforest from human pollution, the aspect of them preserving the wildlife during patrol should be emphasised on.

When an army of quadrotors hovers through the densely vegetated forest with minimal noise, they ought to also maintain an adequate distance from habitats of animals. Leaving the animals undisturbed should not be compromised. In reality, the presence of these flying robots could severely increase the stress levels of the wildlife, especially when the bots were moving as a swarm. This case could be worsened when the bots suffer a malfunction and became uncontrollable. Animals could be physically injured. By strategically locating a limited number of quadrotors in certain areas of the forest, the chances of disrupting an animal’s abode would be reduced.

In conclusion, quadrotors provide an elevated call for emergency response without the aid for any man.

References: 

Peck, M. (2012) How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2012/03/20/flying-robots-deforestation/

Wagstaff, K. (2015) Animals vs. Drones: Should Close Encounters Be Banned? Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/animals-vs-drones-should-close-encounters-be-banned-n451736

“Flying Robots” Design Summary (Draft 1)

The article “How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation” (2012) mentioned the purpose, features and effectiveness of quadrotors, mainly focused on them being “sentinels of crucial environmental protection”. These “miniature flying robots” were programmed to inspect the surroundings of the rainforest independently, providing advanced feedback for unlicensed activities made to the environment. The article highlighted the robots’ ability to efficiently function together as a team without a need for any communication, which yields a systematic and productive army despite any circumstances. Furthermore, quadrotors were equipped with “little rotor blades'' for easy gliding action, and the programmed commands on the “onboard processor” would call for immediate response to any difference in their surroundings. 

While the article claimed that quadrotors were deemed as valuable bots which guards the rainforest from human pollution, the aspect of them preserving the wildlife during patrol should be emphasised on.

Reference: Peck, M. (2012) How Flying Robots Might Prevent Deforestation. Retrieved from https://mashable.com/2012/03/20/flying-robots-deforestation/