Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have now been accepted as an alternative medium to human workers for data collection processes in various industries. The capabilities of UAVs are now being extended from passive tasks of data collection to active tasks of interacting with the environment by equipping them with robotic arms and function as Unmanned Aerial Manipulators (UAMs). Research on Unmanned Aerial Manipulators has been growing in the last few years. The applications of UAMs in terms of sensor installation, inspections, door opening, valve turning, pick and drop, etc. have been studied for the oil and gas industry, and civil applications, etc. However, there is a lack of studies in understanding applications of UAMs and their capabilities in construction and in advancing construction activities. The goal of this research is to identify potential opportunities and challenges of the application of UAM in construction projects. The study will undertake an extensive literature review and semi-structured interviews with industry experts to address research questions. This study will have a significant contribution to the introduction and development of new contact-based UAV-guided technologies in construction. / Master of Science / Drones or Unmanned Aerial Manipulators have been used in the construction industry to collect visual data in form of images, videos, or to map surveys, and visually inspect the structures. However, if equipped with a robotic arm, they attain the capability of touching and interacting with the environment to effectively function as an Unmanned Aerial Manipulator (UAM). UAMs have researched for various applications such as sensor installation, touch-based sensor inspections, door opening, and closing, and pick up and drop, etc. However, there is a lack of study for their opportunities and challenges in the construction industry. This research focuses on understanding the opportunities and challenges associated with the application of UAMs in the construction industry.

The ability to detect, monitor, and forecast the movement of airborne plant pathogens in agricultural ecosystems is essential for developing rational approaches to managing these habitats. We developed an autonomous (self-controlling) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform for aerobiological sampling tens to hundreds of meters above agricultural fields. Autonomous UAVs have the potential to extend the range of aerobiological sampling, improve positional accuracy of sampling paths, and enable coordinated flight with multiple aircraft at different altitudes. We equipped a Senior Telemaster model airplane with two spore-sampling devices and a MicroPilot autonomous system, and we conducted over 60 autonomous microbe-sampling flights at Virginia Tech's Kentland Farm. To determine the most appropriate sampling path for aerobiological sampling, we explored a variety of different sampling patterns for our autonomous UAVs including multiple GPS waypoints plotted over a variety of spatial scales. We conducted a total of 25 autonomous aerobiological sampling flights for five different aerobiological sampling patterns. The pattern of a single waypoint exhibited the best flight characteristics with good positional accuracy and standard deviations in altitude from 1.6 to 2.8 meters. The four point pattern configured as a rectangle also demonstrated good flight characteristics and altitude standard deviations from 1.6 to 4.7 meters. / Master of Science

No description available.

Since the Publication in 1986 of The Secret Life of John Logie Baird by Tom McArthur and Dr. Peter Waddell the subject of J.L. Baird and his company's involvement with British military technologies has been brought to public attention. There has previously been no comprehensive academic assesment using primary sources of the suggestions offered in these books. Here is recorded British military television investigations from 1926 to 1946, with special reference to J.L. Baird, using previously ignored Public Record Office files and other sources. The precise role of J.L.Baird in Baird Television Limited (BTL) after the mid-1930s is discussed but still remains a matter for debate. This situation is important to the understanding of who was responsible for the variety of military projects undertaken by the Baird organisation. The technology of aerial reconnaIssance usmg television had a strong influence on British military television investigations. Television for aerial reconnaissance was the first military application suggested for the technology and became practical after the fighting services contacted J.L.Baird in 1926. This investigation continued with BTL into the 1930s and later included Marconi-EMI. These activities have had little previous assessment and yet significantly influence British military television history. During World War Two J.L. Baird personally investigated a facsimile system whilst being funded by Cable and Wireless. The technology used by J.L. Baird was based on a rapid processing camera for facsimile transmission. This technology had previously been investigated by his company in collaboration with the Air Ministry and Admiralty from 1937 to 1940 for Television aerial reconnaissance. There can remain no doubt that militarily useful applications of television, particularly for aerial reconnaissance, were a significant part of the investigations of J.L. Baird and his companies.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited / The thesis addresses the problem of optimally re-assigning strike aircraft to targets in response to the emergence of "pop-ups" or time-sensitive targets. The first part of thesis develops an automated decision aid to rapidly revise the current air tasking order (ATO), so as to: maximize achievement of target destruction goals (weighted by target priorities), minimize attrition risk to employed assets, and disrupt the current ATO as little as possible. The second part of the thesis develops a detailed test and evaluation plan to conduct a comparison of two competing automated decision aids and the current manual reassignment methods. Critical operational issues, measures of effectiveness and measures of performance were developed to fully evaluate operational performance. The time-sensitive-targeting decision aid was tested and validated during major air strike live exercises at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One. Careful measurements comparing the re-taskings recommended by the decision aid against actual decisions demonstrated that in every case the model's solutions were of better or equal quality, maximized combat asset utilization, and were achieved significantly faster. / Major, United States Marine Corps

QC 351 A7 no. 60 / The atmospheric transmission and airlight in three spectral bands as a function of an angle off nadir were calculated from radiometric measurements with cameras and film for a particular solar irradiance and atmosphere; the sun zenith angle was 49 °, the airpaths were from 15,000 ft m.s.l. to the surface at 1,900 ft on a clear day in Tucson, Arizona, and the azimuth was into the sun. The three spectral bands had peak transmissions at 430 nm (blue), 530 nm (green), and 800 nm (infrared). The statistics derived from numerous measurements show that a standard deviation of 2% can be attained in the relative radiances read out of multiband photography obtained with calibrated cameras and processed with carefully controlled sensitometry. In the blue and green bands, the atmospheric effect on contrast as a function of an angle off nadir became statistically noticeable at about 35° and 50 °, respectively. The standard deviations of the relative radiances measured in the blue and green bands were 3% and 2 %, respectively. The effect in the infrared band probably became significant at even larger angles; greater inaccuracy in the infrared band data precludes a more definitive statement. Also presented is a solution for an optimum ratio of playback lamp luminances for false color recombinations in two bands.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 1984. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaf 51). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.S. in Operations Research)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Richard E. Rosenthal, Thomas Hoivik. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77). Also available online.

Thesis (M.L.A.)--University of Michigan. / Two contour maps each accompanied by transparent leaf with outline drawing. Bibliography: leaf 29.