Perimeter Security
Greg Laxton
Research: UAS Mission
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Worldwide
19 September 2015
Mission requirements would influence the design and include IR and
visual video feed, all weather capability and sufficient endurance. Several
existing UAS would meet the design requirements for this role. Three examples
of platforms capable of this mission are the Insitu ScanEagle ("Commercial
unmanned solutions," n.d.), the AeroVironment Puma ("Puma,"
n.d.) and the Aeryon SkyRanger ("Aeryon SkyRanger," n.d.). These
three examples have a range of capabilities and each could complete the
hypothetical missions, but there are numerous other options on the market for
aerial surveillance platforms.
The ScanEagle is a proven, long endurance, persistent observation
platform. It could offer the perimeter security more than 24 hours of
continuous IR and video surveillance to a ground control station (GCS)
("Commercial unmanned solutions," n.d.). Its launch and recovery
system requires a dedicated support vehicle, but the UAS does not need a runway
for operations. It is the highest cost of the three options at several million
dollars for the system ("USAF Factsheet," 2007). The second option is
the AeroVironment Puma. It is a much smaller, hand launched, electric powered
UAS with a conventional airplane configuration. It has a maximum endurance of
3.5 hours ("Puma," n.d.), according to company specifications. For
this application, it would require several platforms to provide the continuous
observation of the larger ScanEagle. The third proposed UAS is the Aeryon
SkyRanger. This is a self-launched, electric powered quad-copter capable of
approximately 50 minutes of endurance ("Aeryon SkyRanger," n.d.). All
three vehicles have video and IR capability and can observe potential threats
outside of the high value facility.
The benefits of using a UAS for a perimeter protection role, is
the observation point provided by an airborne platform. The view from above and
the capability to focus the UAS on suspect areas, increases security offered
from fixed observation posts. Adding a real time video and IR function, should
allow security personnel to see thermal objects in very low light and transmit
the images to an observer. The ease of launch and recovery, and the endurance
of each proposed UAS would be determined by the end user and the budget
available.
The challenges of this design are the system costs and operator
training. Set up costs could be significant for the organization, especially
with the sophisticated ScanEagle, and all the platforms require some level of
operator training.
Ethical and legal challenges could be problematic; especially if
the high value installation uses the UA to observe activity far from the
facility. The neighboring homeowners, if in the United States (US), have a
fourth amendment right to privacy (“Find”, 2012). Simply observing adjacent
private property with conventional camera technology will probably not be
illegal, but higher technology not available to the general public, like
thermal imaging, will probably run afoul of the fourth amendment. In California
vs. Ciraolo, the court held that “The Fourth Amendment was not violated by the
naked-eye aerial observation of respondent's backyard” ("California v.
Ciraolo," 1986). This ruling concerned law enforcements’ observation of
backyard marijuana growing from an airplane. It may not exactly apply to
security observation from an unmanned aircraft because the operator is not law
enforcement, but the homeowner’s privacy concerns are still valid.
Another legal challenge to this idea may be the loss of airspace
above the installation. If the more sophisticated platforms, like the
ScanEagle, are used in this role, the airspace would have to be closed to other
users. This could easily generate complaints to the FAA if UAS are increasingly
used in this role, especially if larger and larger areas of local airspace are
cordoned off for “security” concerns.
References
Aeryon SkyRanger. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://aeryon.com/wpp/wp-content/files/brochures/Aeryon-SkyRanger-Brochure.pdf
California v. Ciraolo. (1986, May 19). Retrieved from
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/476/207/case.html
Commercial unmanned solutions. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.insitu.com/missions/commercial
FAA. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.faa.gov/uas/public_operations/
Finn, R. L., & Wright, D. (2012). Unmanned aircraft systems:
Surveillance, ethics and privacy in civil applications. Computer Law &
Security Review, 28(2), 184-194.
Puma. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.avinc.com/downloads/DS_Puma_Online_10112013.pdf
Raven. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.avinc.com/downloads/Raven_Gimbal.pdf
USAF Factsheet. (2007, November 1). Retrieved from
http://www.af.mil/AboutUs/FactSheets/Display/tabid/224/Article/104532/scan-eagle.aspx
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