NOAA Aerielle SONAR UAS

"The Aerielle SONAR UAS Phase II proposal is in response to Topic 9.4.01, “Unmanned Aircraft System: Rapid Response for Natural Disaster” and proposes to improve and further develop the “Aerielle” with a Humminbird underwater sonar imaging commonly used by emergency responders. The goal of the Aerielle SONAR UAS was to perform SONAR scanning of underwater structures for hazardous debris identification, automatic victim recognition in challenging landscapes, and near-real time collaboration utilizing cloud storage and mobile app development, which was accomplished successfully. The Aerielle integrated cutting edge SONAR technology in a buoyant UAS platform, allowing it to land in water and perform real-time analysis of underwater structures and debris. Based on these results, Hydronalix will: (1) Design and establish a manufacturing process to produce a production prototype generation Aerielle (in volume) with improved aerodynamics that is waterproof, (2) Improve with introduction of multi-functional capabilities including Cloud-based data transfer, weather data collection, side-scan and 360º Sonar imaging and improved motion in water, EO/IR cameras, and (3) Implement new algorithms and machine learning to manage advanced disaster response. The goal is to develop a UAS that could assist ships, boats and emergency managers in disaster prevention and response and provide localized weather information."