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Unmanned Aircraft Systems related issues
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- Issues
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Above: an InView unmanned aircraft in a steep climb.
The issues discussed next, many of which are in the process of being resolved,
have impeded the introduction and application of Unmanned Air Vehicles,
throughout the world.
Fortunately, governments and regional bodies are becoming aware of the various
issues and are establishing UA Test Centres, for use in the testing and
certification of UA.
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Issues
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No pilot in the UA: what happens if the UA experiences technical problems, such as:
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loss of communications link
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loss of engine and / or electrical power
How is the UAV certified as air worthy?
How can a UAV avoid an impending mid-air collision?
more on safety
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As a rule of thumb, reliability is related to the cost of the aircraft. The UAV
is less expensive than a manned aircraft, so, it may be less reliable. The
consequences of an unreliable UAV are:
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potential for a crash, possibly injuring people, creating damage to property,
or, causing a road accident
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waste of time and money recovering the failed UAV
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the more unreliable the UAV, the greater the number of spare planes required,
impacting the financial advantage
more on reliability
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How does the environmental impact of the UAV compare with that of the manned
alternative in terms of fuel usage and noise levels? If the UAV is so
inexpensive, there may be so many as to cause an environmental nuisance…
more on environmental issues
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How can the use of UAVs by either terrorists, or, criminals be prevented? On 8
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November, 2004, Hezbollah flew a UAV from Lebanon over Israel…
more on terrorism
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How can UAVs be integrated in established commercial and military Air Traffic
Control Systems? How can the Control Tower give flight instructions to the
non-existent pilot in a UAV?
more on air traffic control
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Can the operation of the UAV be de-skilled, since the pilot is no longer
required? In fact, could the UAV take off, flight and landing be managed
entirely by computer (ie. automated flight), leaving the only human intervention
the servicing of the UAV?
more on flight automation
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How long can a UAV remain airborne? Model planes only seem to manage ten to
fifteen minutes
see first flight across the Atlantic by a UAV
see first flight across the Atlantic by a small UAV
see Predator UAV with an estimated 3,120 Km range
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