Light Weight Electric and Magnetic-Field Sensors for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In order to function at their maximum operational potential, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) must have detailed information about their environment. The DoD has a need for a technology that can be configured into a compact, lightweight package for mounting on a small UAV (SUAV) that still provides accurate, real-time information about the location of power lines. One method to solve this problem is to equip UAVs with real-time, in-flight power line sensing using specially designed electric-field (E-field) and magnetic-field (B-field) sensors. QUASAR Federal Systems proposes to design and construct a lightweight, low power sensor package based on our already existing compact induction coils, compact E-field sensor, and miniature data acquisition board (DAQ). We will optimize the sensor and DAQ designs for appropriate fidelity and resolution. In addition to designing the sensor package, we will investigate mounting schemes on the sponsor-selected UAV. The package will then be integrated into a low-cost, research grade SUAV. Along with the hardware development, we will research a signal processing algorithm to provide real-time determination of the distance to power lines based on the measured E and B-fields. Finally, field tests will be performed to verify the proper operation of the hardware and the algorithm.