Environmentally efficient flight path calculation of autonomous, networked flight systems with innovative sensor technology for wind field measurement

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) will become increasingly important in the near future, especially in urban areas. In the logistics sector in particular, this relates to the distribution of parcels and freight over the "last mile" in a highly congested urban area. With regard to a large number of flight systems acting in parallel, e.g. in a swarm, the digitization and automation of these systems are the central key components for successful implementation. An important component here is intelligent flight route planning. The aim here is to plan flight routes in such a way that energy consumption during flight is reduced to a minimum, for example by exploiting updrafts. In addition to efficiency, however, a high level of safety must also be maintained on the flight route. In addition to avoiding collisions of the UAS with each other or with the environment, flying around dangerous turbulence is required. For the described goals of intelligent flight route planning, the wind fields within the relevant flight space must be known. Since no suitable systems exist yet, especially for urban areas, which can record the wind fields with high enough resolution, new sensor concepts are being developed and investigated within the scope of this project which can master this challenge. The focus of the Chair for Integrated Systems is on terahertz radar technology. This sensor technology is characterized by high precision and environmental resolution at relatively low energy consumption and sensor weight and is therefore predestined for use in a UAS.

Part­ners
In­fi­ne­on Tech­no­lo­gies AG, Ruhr-Universität Bochum (Integrated Systems), Technische Universität Dresden (Flugmechanik und -regelung am Insstitut für Luft- und Raumfahrttechnik, Hochfrequenztechnik am Institut für Nachrichtentechnik und Sprachtechnologie und Kognitive Systeme am Institut für Akustik und Sprachkommunikation)