Synthesis

       The study "Aerial Reconnaissance Robot" is similar to the following proposed foreign studies entitled: “A New use for the Aerial Reconnaissance Multi-sensor(ARMS) Aircraft: How to appropriately use the arms aircraft for homeland security without infringement on the posse commitatus act” , "How will Emerging Aerial Surveillance and Detection Technology Contribute to the Mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection” , "An Intelligent Portable Aerial Surveillance System: Modeling and Image Stitching” , “Adapting a Tier 2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Provide an Electronic Surveillance and Geolocation Capability” , "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 100% Report”. All of them are aerial reconnaissance or aerial surveillance but they have different purposes. Some are for modeling stitching, for security, and others are for reporting. The study is designed not only for surveillance but also for search and rescue when there is a calamity.

The study is also similar to the following proposed local study entitled: “Prototype Design of a Wi-Fi Controlled Surveillance Rover”, “Prototype of the Solar Powered Surveillance Robot”, "A Modified Indoor Wireless Audio and Video Transmitter”, “Prototype Design of an RF Controlled Mobile surveillance Robot with Integrated Control”, "Fabrication of Surface Water Surveillance Robot". All of them are used for surveillance. The difference is that all the proposed local studies mentioned are not able to survey while in the air.

Continue reading →

Local Studies

       A study conducted by Araganos, Dejarme, Hari, and Quesea (2010) on “Prototype Design of a Wi-Fi Controlled Surveillance Rover” deals with the prototype design of Wi-Fi controlled surveillance rover, and the rover acts a personal computer controlling motors through the parallel ports. Windows xp operating system was installed in the pc rover which receives commands from a laptop linked through an 802.11b/g router and the use of remote desktop program such as Ultra Virtual Network Computing (UltraVNC). It uses relays and a visual basic program for forward, backward and steering left and right. The main conditions of the rover are the system unit, motor, camera, wireless adapter, power supply and the program.

       Aracan, Cada, Roasa, and Villanueva (2009) on “Prototype of the Solar Powered Surveillance Robot" noted that the components of the design comprises of five main areas which where the following: power supply, sensor, microprocessor, surveillance camera, and motor. Visual basic was used for the programming. This study is composed of the construction of the mechanism and software program embedded on the robot.

       A research made by Bundalian (2011) entitled "A Modified Indoor Wireless Audio and Video Transmitter” expounded that the circuit is a miniaturized broadcast TV transmitter that can be  used for transmitting program from a vcr or any multimedia player at a distance up to 5miters away without any physical connections, but with the proposed modification, some components need to be replaced to enchase the distance range to send the information from the source to the receiver monitor at a distance of 20miters.The study aims to design and develop an efficient wireless services connectivity to eliminate the potential hazard due to sagging of any electronics media cable to the user and to prevent farcing of any electronics media player for setting up an audio and video system. The study (1) Design and modified an indoor wireless audio video, (2) Constructed the prototype and (3) tested and evaluated the functionality of the design and the effectiveness of the wireless survey system.

       A study proposed by Estarija, Libao, and Mendoza (2010) entitled “Prototype Design of an RF Controlled Mobile Surveillance Robot with Integrated Control” showed a design and executed a mobile surveillance that operated in two control systems: a handled RF controller and on integrated control. The rover is made up of a self-designed chassis, two lead acid batteries, a power inverter, and a receiver unit derived from a remote controlled toy car. The first control system is made up of an RF controller operating at 27.145 MHz and having a modified antenna to attain better range. The second control system incorporates the same RF controller and a transmitter unit but this time, the rover is being controlled by a computer via Visual Basic 6.0. The research is designed as such so that there will be least possible room for error, even though it may be subjected to future alterations.

       Another design was taken from the study of from Basit, Delos Reyes, Juniosa, and Navarro (2010). The design is composed of lead-acid battery, control circuitry, bumper sensors, and servo-based under and camera for planning and surveillance system. Included in this study are the electronic circuit design adaptation and construction of the surface water surveillance robot and other additional features such as sequential LED display and sound effect indicator.

       In the study entitled, “Remote Mobile Monitoring Robot” by Amano, Antonio, Balois, Barretto, and Niere (2010), they asserted that the technology is very fast expanding. Different state-of-the -art equipment are rising and slowly becoming a necessity. Robot or robotics is one of the fast rising technologies nowadays. A robot is an automatic device that performs functions normally ascribed to humans. Mobile robots are automatic machines having the capability to move around in their environment and are not fixed to one physical location. Security is one of the issues of mobile robots this generations is currently facing and monitoring is one of the solutions. It is process of routinely gathering information on all aspects of the project. The design of a remote mobile monitoring robot is simply a mobile robot equipped with monitoring camera. The main purpose of this system is to develop a more reliable and convenient security device. It is made remote controlled using wireless technology for the user to be able to control in the way they want. The researchers used wireless router and wireless LAN to make the prototype wireless. In creating a device like this, the proponents first have to gather different electronic components such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, diodes, LED, voltage regulators and relays for the power supply circuit and relay circuit as well. Relay circuit is connected to the wiper motor which will control the movement of the gears in different directions. UPS is used as the power source. This system will be usable because it is very easy to use or operate. In addition, it is efficient because it is cheaper than paying security personnel and it can prevent life threatening. The program used to operate the system is Visual Basic because it is simple and user-friendly. It is also found out that developing system like this need time and further studies for the system to be successful.

Continue reading →

Foreign Studies

    Kennepp (2012) noted that the Army Reserve Aerial Reconnaissance Multi-Sensor (ARMS) Aircraft are no longer required to provide over watch in Iraq. With budgetary constraints, both the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must employ fiscal responsibility by sharing assets. The ARMS aircraft can provide DHS similar over watch capability as in Iraq, limiting the need for other more costly aerial assets and adding capacity. Additional mapping missions would increase operational reach for DHS. Such missions can be conducted without infringing on the Posse Commitatus Act by establishing proper control measures. Both DoD and DHS will benefit and show fiscial responsibility.

       On the other hand, Reyes (2012) proposed a study entitled "How will Emerging Aerial Surveillance and Detection Technology Contribute to the Mission of U.S. Customs and Border Protection” that stressed out that as the United States (U.S) has established better control of the border, traffickers and smugglers. Investigating how emerging technologies in aerial surveillance and detection (AS&D) might be applied to border security and the potential implications of fielding such technology by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), will provide a foundation for countering this evolving threat. This thesis examines possible contributions of such technology to the mission of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

       Du (2013) in the study entitled “An Intelligent Portable Aerial Surveillance System: Modeling and Image Stitching”, pointed that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have been widely used in modern warfare for surveillance, reconnaissance and even attack missions. They can provide valuable battlefield information and accomplish dangerous tasks with minimal risk of loss of lives and personal injuries. However, existing UAV systems are far from perfect to meet all possible situations. One of the most notable situations is the support for individual troops. Besides the incapability to always provide images in desired resolution, currently available systems are either too expensive for large-scale deployment or too heavy and complex for a single solder. Intelligent Portable Aerial Surveillance System (IPASS), sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), is aimed at developing a low-cost, light-weight unmanned aerial vehicle that can provide sufficient battlefield intelligence for individual troops. The main contributions of this thesis are two-fold (1)the development and verification of a model-based flight simulation for the aircraft, (2) comparison of image stitching techniques to provide a comprehensive aerial surveillance information from multiple vision. To assist with the design and control of the aircraft, dynamical models are established at different complexity levels. Simulations with these models are implemented in Mat lab to study the dynamical characteristics of the aircraft. Aerial images acquired from the three onboard cameras are processed after getting the flying platform built. How a particular image is formed from a camera and the general pipeline of the feature-based image stitching method are first introduced in the thesis. To better satisfy the needs of this application, a homograph based stitching method is studied. This method can greatly reduce computation time with very little compromise in the quality of the panorama, which makes real-time video display of the surroundings on the ground station possible. By implementing both of the methods for image stitching using OpenCV, a quantitative comparison in the performance is accomplished. 

       In the study of Huffine (2009) entitled “Adapting a Tier 2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Provide an Electronic Surveillance and Geolocation Capability” he emphasized the integration of developmental Radar Warning Receiver named “The Puffer” onto a Tier 2 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, and the Multifunctional Information Display System/Low Volume Terminal into the UAV’s ground control station. This integration of systems would become a low cost platform that could provide an Electronic Surveillance and geolocation capability of known mobile threat systems. The results of this investigation showed that the Puffer could be integrated on to the Tier 2 UAV with minor modifications. To control and fully integrate the downlink messages from multiple UAVs plus add the capability to send the information out to other units over Link16 would require a major hardware effort with a sizable software integration effort. While this would be an extensive project, the results could be done at a significant cost saving compared to the manned platforms in use today.

       The article on “Unmanned Aerial Vehicle 100% Report” displayed a design of an unmanned aerial to be entered into the 2013 Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) competition that is organized every year by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. (Bayliss, Bolanos & Martinez, 2013). This design project does not entail manufacturing UAV from the ground up. Rather, it requires adequate selection, customization, and modification of a pre-fabricated product. The SUAS competition consists of several factors, which determine components that will need to be added to the UAV body. The final design will be able to achieve sustained flight for a minimum of 40 minutes with the added payload of GPS, altimeter, computer, autopilot, camera, etc. The body of the UAV is an RC plane. Several designs are being considered. The final design choice will hinge on manufacturer specifications. Additionally, an adequate motor (liquid fuel vs. electric) will be chosen depending on the thrust-to-weight ratio required and the necessary range. The fuselage of the design needs to be sufficiently large enough to accommodate the electronic components necessary for autonomous flight. Wing loading is also of concern, thus the wing design needs to be appropriate.

Continue reading →

Local Literature

       The article of Dacanay (2013) entitled “Diver finds Guam-based US drone in Masbate” mentioned that a drone, diver and local fishermen found off central Philippines originated from Guam, and was used during a military exercise held there in 2012. The two countries signed the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which was ratified by Congress in 1998. It has served as a guideline for the renewal of US-Philippine joint war games that began in 2000. In this article the proponents created and designed a prototype like this aerial drones not only for military purpose but for search and rescue also. This statement tells that those kind of aerial drone is very useful

       According to Reuters (2013) in the article entitled “MANILA, Philippines - Naval forces from the Philippines and US held joint exercises on Friday”, there are two sides shared techniques in sea reconnaissance that could come in handy as Manila shores up its capabilities to patrol its maritime territories. The joint naval exercises, now in its 19th year, are aimed at improving cooperation between the two allies in maintaining regional maritime security, addressing trafficking and smuggling, and responding to disasters.

Around 200 Filipino and 600 U.S. personnel joined the annual Cooperation, Afloat, Readiness and Training (CARAT). US forces demonstrated the use of their unmanned aerial system, which can be used for sea surveillance and convoy, and tracking target positions. They said a similar system was used before in helping to capture a leader from the extremist Abu Sayyaf Group. The Kevlar radio-controlled plane, weighing 6 kilos, can fly up to 10,000 feet at a speed of 40 nautical miles. Images taken by a camera inside the unit can be monitored by squadron members on the boat. It is also capable of capturing infrared images. In this article it gives us a more interest to design and build an aerial reconnaissance robot not just for military use but it can be used as a tool to save life for search and rescue, to know how much the damage done by a disaster and can be an bird’s eye view. The aerial robot has many more possible uses.

       In 2013, Pascual in his article entitled “Up in the sky, look! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s IteraRobota!” specified that the IteraRobota is a self-directed aircraft which provides aerial surveillance of terrains. What seems like an oversized robot-toy is actually equipped with lenses, sensors, and other devices that function altogether to survey the environment, specifically agricultural plantations mid-air.IteraRobota makes possible to capture a top-view perspective of a certain place at a certain time. One of the creators of this technology, Dr. Vladimir Y. Mariano of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics at the University of the Philippines Los Baños shared that just as a doctor diagnoses a person from head to foot, IteraRobota works in the same way in monitoring and identifying problems that can be found in a target land area. It was developed to come up with a quick way of assessing terrains. The technology is able to provide not just aerial images of the terrain but also ground data on water vapour, rainfall rate, and cloud motion which are used to monitor agriculture, forestry, and the environment. The technology is aimed to help its stakeholders arrive at better decisions for the agriculture and the environment from efficient and reliable data. As of now, IteraRobota is already dealing with its potential stakeholders such as International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARD), Del Monte Philippines, and Philex Mining Corporation for partnerships.

        According to Philippine Information Agency (2013) the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Caraga Region is using a prototype Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technology popularly known as “drone” developed by Filipino scientists and engineers in an effort to closely monitor the activities and movement of illegal logging operations in the remote mountain villages of the region. SKYEYE, the operator of the UAV gave a complete briefing of the UAV operations to PENRO Roberto Oliveros in Agusan del Sur and PENRO Merlinda R. Manila in Surigao del Sur at the DENR Regional Office in the presence of the Regional Executive Director Nonito M. Tamayo and RTD Ocampo on Tuesday in a move to have a better understanding of the technology. It stated that UAV technology is expected to minimize the high risk of lives among the DENR personnel engaged in anti-illegal logging campaign at the front lines. This article will see that even the Philippines has to catch up a little in the UAV technology, that it is used by some government department to protect the area that they are responsible for. Robotics is getting popular nowadays and the young ones are driven by curiosity to do more and do best for the country and to the world.

       As suggested by President Benigno Aquino, the Philippines has to deploy US spy planes as an option to monitor the country’s territory, as China appealed for stability in the region. In an embassy statement quoting spokesman Liu Weimin, called on all parties to maintain “peace and stability” in the South China Sea. (Agence France-Presse, 2012).

Based from the statement, the hope of the Chinese side that peace and stability can be maintained and parties concerned can do things conducive to regional peace and stability. It did not specify the Philippines or the United States or mention the three-month long dispute between China and the Philippines over the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The dispute began after Chinese government vessels blocked Philippine ships from arresting Chinese fishermen near the shoal April 10. The shoal sits about 140 miles (230 kilometers) from the western coast of the Philippines’ main island of Luzon. The nearest major Chinese land mass is 1,200 kilometers northwest of the shoal, according to Philippine Navy maps.

Continue reading →

Foreign Literature

       This chapter places the current study into the context of previous, related research. Articles that have information about the UAV and aerial reconnaissance robot or drone, information that are useful to the proponent in their study. This fact can give reasons and objectives to the proponents to design, build and be operational for a good cause.

Foreign Literature

       In the article of McCutcheon (2013) entitled “Drones in America: Startup Builds Tiny Surveillance Robots That Fit Through a Window” it stated that the militarized drones flying over the Middle East and South Asia give way to models that are more commercial, sometimes one can get the feeling that a drone is what kids will be asking for next Christmas. A military-grade startup, CyPhy Works, recently unveiled prototypes of two small surveillance drones that could fly through an open window or hover 1,000 feet in the air. They may not be under the Christmas tree in 2013, but with the FAA reviewing permits for domestic drone use and One of CyPhy Works' robots, the EASE (Extreme Access System for Entry), could enter through a window. It is one foot across and 16 inches high, basically two shoeboxes stacked on top of each other. It is connected to a controller by a thin copper cord and the power resides in the base station. By swapping out batteries, the drone could stay in the air indefinitely. The other robot, PARC (Persistent Aerial Reconnaissance and Communications), is designed for aerial use. It is also connected to a base station through a copper cord and can hover 1,000 feet in the air while staring at an area for up to 12 hours on one battery, which can again be swapped out.Times in which robots like these are being used to scout a suspect’s home or to maintain an eye on a large crowd at a concert or demonstration are completely reasonable.

        According to Estes (2013) in his article entitled “Commercial Drones Are Now Approved for Aerial Surveillance”, the Federal Aviation Administration recently cleared two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for commercial use surveilling the Alaskan coast, marking a sharp turn for the future of domestic drone use.

       One of the drones, an Insitu Scan Eagle 200, will be used by a major energy company for monitoring migrating whales and icebergs off the Alaskan coast, while the other one, an AeroVironment PUMA, will monitor oil spills up in the Beaufort Sea. These are the first of what will surely be a significant number of commercial drones use for aerial surveillance around the country. Until now, drones could only fly with an experimental airworthiness and not for commercial purposes. Although, that did not stop photographers or journalists from using the machines for specialized purposes. It did kick start entire industry of commercial drone manufacturing to make sure there are UAVs ready for purchase when the FAA gives the go ahead. In this article the two UAV have been certified to be used in different situation, the Insitu Scan Eagle 200 will be used to monitor migrating whales and icebergs of the Alaskan coast while the other one, an AeroVironment PUMA, will monitor oil spills up in the BeauportSea. These are the two first UAVs that had been license to be operational. Until now drone can only fly with an experimental airworthiness and not for commercial purposes. Although that did not stop photographers or journalists from using the machines for specialized purposes, it did kick start an entire industry of commercial drone manufacturing to make sure there are UAVs ready for purchase when the FAA gives the go ahead.

       Kopstein (2013) on his article entitled “Texas Drone Bill Clears Cops for Aerial Surveillance, but not Citizens”, cited that various US states wrestle with the implications of ubiquitous unmanned aerial vehicles. Texas legislators have passed a bill banning drones for many private citizens while granting exceptions for law enforcement, utilities, and even real estate companies. The Texas Privacy Act makes it a misdemeanor to use aerial drones to film any person or private property with the intent to conduct surveillance, but it also carves out a whopping 40 exemptions. According to the bill's text, law enforcement officers will have wide authority to use surveillance drones both with and without a warrant, in order to investigate crime scenes or pursue individuals when police have reasonable suspicion that they have committed a crime — among a host of other circumstances. The bill also has exemptions for oil and electrical companies, real estate agents using drones for marketing purposes, educational institutions, and areas within 25 miles of the Mexican border.

       Furthermore, Petersen (2012) enlightened people about the brief historical perspective on the evolution of surveillance technologies, then charts the development of modern-day devices from the invention of radar to the dawn of the Internet. Next, it describes emerging technologies—including GIS, GPS devices, Google Maps, biometric technology, surveillance cameras, global satellites, miniaturization of devices, and social media—that are challenging notions of privacy and the right of access to information. While focusing on the technology. He also discussed surveillance as a phenomenon and what these technologies mean to the understanding of freedom, privacy, and the impact of technology on communications and the structure of society. Enhanced with numerous photos, the book presents the pros and cons—and some of the controversy—of these increasingly sophisticated technologies, their collective impact, and what the future may hold. It is ideal for those new to surveillance; security, military, and law enforcement professionals who utilize surveillance technologies; and students of privacy, constitutional freedom, journalism, and sociology.

       LorakpenIshu (2013) in his article entitled “Nigeria: NAF Invents Bomb Defusing Robot, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle”, mentioned that Nigeria Air Force Institute of Technology has invented a high caliber bomb defusing robot that could handle bomb cases, just as the Research and Development (R and D) unit of the institute has produced an improved version of its Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), capable of being used in surveillance of the nation's pipelines and other vital installations.

       Commandant of AFIT, Air vice Marshal, John O. Oshoniyi disclosed this at a press conference to kick start the 42nd graduation week of the institute. He said that the invention became necessary in view of last year's incidents where a police anti bomb expert was killed as well as bomb explosions in parts of the country.

       The Commandant also disclosed that given the required political will, the institute would further develop improved devices that could enhance internal security. In this article the author had shown that wide variety of robot had been made for a certain mission or objectives. Using it for military and surveillance of the nation’s pipelines and other vital installations.

Continue reading →