More on that UAS monitoring the fire in Alaska
Eyes in the sky: Funny River Fire hightlights potential for unmanned aircraft
This article gives us a little more detail on the work that was done to monitor the fire on the Kenai peninsula in Alaska recently. The amount of work necessary to get this operation to work is impressive, but it begs for automation and simplification. Matt Parker and Marty Rogers seem to have been very creative and resourceful in their deployment of a UAS (Unmanned Aerial System) to map and monitor this fire. Here’s the sticking point that represents the first and biggest problem to solve for timely and effective UAS deployment in disaster situations.
One hurdle that was made apparent during the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire, was a lack of regulations in place for operating manned and unmanned vehicles in the same airspace, Rogers said.
While working on the edge of the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire, the UAV flew at night because the central Kenai Peninsula airspace is clear of manned aircraft after 11 p.m., Rogers said.