Categories : Insitu recently conducted search-and-rescue (SAR) demonstrations with its ScanEagle unmanned aircraft system (UAS) in the Arctic.
The July 13-15 demonstrations, from Oliktok Point at the North Slope of Alaska, were part of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Research and Development Center's Arctic Technology Evaluation 2015 Search and Rescue exercise, an event designed to evaluate unmanned technologies in remote area SAR and simulate a collaborative response effort between government and industry entities to an offshore emergency.
Other participants included ConocoPhillips, Era Helicopters, the Department of Energy, the Federal Aviation Administration and the North Slope Borough.
The ScanEagle demonstrated beyond visual line of sight hub-and-spoke capabilities. The aircraft was launched from the shore, and control was handed off to operators aboard the USCGC HEALY.
In flight, the platform provided persistent overwatch, delivered real-time imagery and proved its ability to maximize USCG maritime assets that routinely conduct operations in extreme Arctic conditions. ScanEagle also demonstrated its potential for other operations such as marine mammal surveying and ice floe and ice ridge mapping.
‘We are excited to support our USCG and provide a solution that helps them better protect lives and detect threats to natural resources and national security interests,’ says Ryan M. Hartman, president and CEO of Insitu. ‘This exercise demonstrates the value-added result of expanding the capability of unmanned systems into the civil arena.’
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