Description: In this Phase I SBIR effort, Dragoon Technology proposes to assess the capability of its long endurance low-cost UAS platform, Coriolis, as applied to the wildfire environment. Specifically, investigation of autonomous behaviors enabled by a combination of the Coriolis aircraft, a low-cost sensor suite, and a communications radio will be completed. Dragoon believes that several basic autonomy behaviors can be created by such a system, including a long-dwell communications relay which can optimize navigation based on terrain and signal strength, intelligent tracking of personnel and assets, and detection and tracking of critical features in the fire environment. The intended use of the funding is to research the above areas, integrate communications equipment onto an existing Coriolis aircraft, and perform a flight test with the equipment onboard. In the commercial sector, target markets for a long-endurance low-cost UAS capability are numerous. The original application for the Coriolis aircraft is long duration weather sensing missions, but the aircraft can also be applied broadly to disaster relief and linear infrastructure inspection. The aircraft is well suited to missions where a long endurance capability is required but return of the aircraft may be uncertain.

Benefits: NASA's Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) project is applying UAS and novel aviation technologies to the wildfire environment to improve coordination and operations. When considering currently available UAS, low-cost sensing hours are not yet easily accessible, with platforms typically fitting into two categories. First, battery powered multi-rotors, which are very easy to operate, but lack endurance to make efficient use of operator labor. Second, larger UAS (Type 1-2) which have excellent endurance and payload capacity but are costly and limited in numbers. Dragoon's approach to UAS combines the endurance of large (Type 1-2) UAS and the small size of a Type 3 UAS. The result is a long duration (15+ hours) low-cost platform which can carry a useful payload (1-5 lbs). A platform like this is useful in both research settings and operational settings, as low-cost flight hours are necessary to improve the application of this technology, and also provide economical data collection in operational use.Dragoon believes that drastically lowering the cost and increasing the capability of UAS platforms is key to commercial success. Currently available systems do not yet make economic sense when looking at the total cost per sensing hour, including platform initial cost and ongoing maintenance, operator cost, and attrition rates. These costs are not yet competitive with manned aircraft alternatives, so UAS have not been broadly adopted. Once this threshold is reached, large markets become available. Applications such as weather sensing missions, disaster relief, and linear infrastructure inspection can be completed at a fraction of the cost of manned aircraft when a low-cost UAS platform is available. In the DoD market, recent conflicts have driven UAS requirements towards numerous and disposable assets; A mission which most fixed-wing UAS cannot fulfill. A prime example is swarming missions, which cannot be fulfilled by current small (Type 3) UAS due to their short endurance, and also cannot be fulfilled by larger (Type 1-2) UAS due to their cost. Dragoon's unique combination of the endurance of large (Type 1-2) UAS with the cost of small (Type 3) UAS is an enabler of missions like this. The push to create large number of disposable assets is very well aligned with Dragoon's goals.