DHS Showcases Small UAS for Public Safety

By Brett Davis



The Department of Homeland Security is underway with its Robotic Aircraft for Public Safety (RAPS) program, intended to help public safety officials learn about the use of small unmanned aircraft.



The program, conducted at an Oklahoma State University - University Multispectral Laboratory facility adjacent to Fort Sill, involves having one vendor a month come out for four to five days of testing using a DHS-written set of scenarios.



Each vendor pays its own way. Lockheed Martin was the first, flying its Stalker in December. At a public event on 17 Jan. at the facility, AeroVironment was wrapping up four days of testing its Wasp, Raven and Puma vehicles.



In the demonstration on 17 Jan., a Raven located two people walking, tracked a person who dropped a gun, and then ran and located two missing people who had pretended to fall in a creek.



The results of all the tests will be shared with first responders to help them know what to expect when it comes to using the vehicles, said Dr. John Appleby, of the DHS Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency, or HSARPA.



"We have lots of airplanes coming through the process," Appleby said.



The emphasis is on mature systems, not prototypes, because the goal is rapid transition.



"If we started from scratch in a traditional way. ... It would take quite a long time," he said. "It's better to look at some of the mature technologies out there."



In addition to showcasing the performance of the systems, RAPS also indicates how easy they are to assemble and launch and how they respond to a lost link situation. In the future, RAPS is expected to create a knowledge database and help guide future aircraft and sensor development for homeland security and first responder requirements.



The Oklahoma site was selected because of the space it offered as well as its proximity to Fort Sill’s restricted airspace.



Data from the program is being shared with the FAA to inform its pending small UAS rulemaking, and agency officials were present at the January public demonstration. 



Appleby said the project schedule calls for one vendor test per month, which can involve two or three types of aircraft.



Appleby said that fewer than 1 percent of first responders have air assets of any kind, but small unmanned aircraft are within the reach of many.



"There's a lot of things they can help with at a fraction of the cost," Appleby said.