Stratus Aeronautics expands UAV use to the energy sector
Published on December 6, 2011
Canadian made, owned and operated, Stratus Aeronautics took flight at Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) - Suffield in mid November to test Beyond Line-of-Sight (BLOS) with their Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system, the Venturer. Originally created to do geomagnetic surveys for the mining industry, the technology has since evolved into other sectors such as oil and gas.
Alan Wood, Chief Engineer for Stratus Aeronautics explained that the Venturer has the capability to be used for different applications, dependent on the customer’s needs, examples being pipeline and land surveying. “We are universal so we can place any payload in the aircraft, fly the customer’s area and gather any data that they want; so they can have an infrared camera in there, a normal color camera or a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) sensor.”
The LIDAR in particular is an optic remote sensing technology that uses ultraviolet, visible or near infrared light to image objects. This technology has applications in areas such as: geomatics, forestry, geography as well as airborne laser swath mapping (ALSM) and LIDAR contour mapping. Wood explained that by using the LIDAR sensor on the Venturer, a 3D map can be created from the data gathered.
The UAV can fly both lower elevation and slower speeds than manned fixed wing aircrafts; therefore the quality of their survey data acquisition is much higher.
The Venturer is designed to fly for 6-8 hours. It has a payload capacity of 10 kg, which can hold a variety of instrumentation. It is built with both GPS and autopilot; this function enables the system to maneuver through a pre-determined flight plan, both reliable and safely without human input. A microcomputer system enables the plan to be adjusted at any time during operations. The Venturer has had around one hundred take-offs and landings without incident- a proven vehicle.
Wood expressed that DRDC proved advantageous due to the fact that they could test BLOS capability while flying in uninterrupted airspace.
“We found the base a great place to work. Everyone was really nice, weather was great, obviously they have procedures and it is superbly organized- the facility was fantastic. I think it was one of the best places I’ve been at to fly the aircraft. They had everything there and if we needed something, it just appeared.”
DRDC is located at CFB Suffield and is internationally recognized for chemical and biological defence, military engineering, casualty management, countermine technology, robotics and novel energetic materials; it also includes one the world’s largest segregated air space testing zones, suitable for UAV testing.
Stratus Aeronautics spent two weeks testing at DRDC, where they successfully demonstrated their latest payload technology, avionic improvements and flight operations. To learn more about the variety of uses of the Venturer visit www.universalwing.com or contact the Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta to get connected to the opportunities associated with unmanned vehicle systems in the region.