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ACERO Wildfire Response Drones

11:20 recording · AUTO · 2 speakers

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Brief overview

NASA's ACERO project builds airspace management so drones and crewed aircraft can fight wildfires together, around the clock.

  1. PAM cases give crews shared airspace awarenessThe Portable Airspace Management System reserved a block of airspace, showed all active flights, flagged non-conforming aircraft and received ADS-B in for manned traffic.
  2. The goal is a night second shift, not replacing pilotsHill stresses drones should take the dull, dirty and dangerous work and fly when crewed aircraft are grounded, because low-flying aircraft around unlit mountains at night don't mix.
  3. Communication links matter as much as the aircraftHis major takeaway from the demonstration was that the line from aircraft to ground systems to every other crew in the area is vital, not just for the crew flying.
Executive Summary AI
  • NASA's APPEL podcast Small Steps, Giant Leaps introduces ACERO, the Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations project, which is developing an airspace management system so drones and other aircraft can safely monitor and suppress wildland fires 24 hours a day.0:46
  • Patrick Hill, systems engineer and Chief of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, did payload testing and flight training before the demonstration and then served as acting pilot in command of the SuperVolo, a hybrid gas-electric UAS that takes off vertically, transitions to forward flight and stays airborne far longer than other aircraft.1:34
  • Hill explains that today drones and crewed aircraft cannot fly at the same time over a burn — all guided by an air boss acting as a local airspace manager — and that ACERO aims not to replace crewed aircraft but to add the dull, dirty and dangerous work plus a second shift at night, when low-flying crewed aircraft are grounded around unlit mountains.2:55
  • In the flight demonstration his aircraft carried a Doodle Labs radio acting as a key node in a mesh network of ground radios run from the Portable Airspace Management System (PAM) cases, while multi-rotor aircraft carried a radiosonde for real-time weather and other crews flew cameras over the burn; the PAM cases reserved a block of airspace, showed all active flights once CAL FIRE gave the green4:15
  • The biggest lessons were the complexity of flying multiple UAS safely in a confined airspace and that the communication line from aircraft to ground systems to everyone else is vital for all crews, not just the flying crew; Hill closes with his own giant leap — switching majors in his second year of college from airline pilot to UAS study, a decision that led him to NASA.7:45
Key Quote
“Yeah, it's not just me out there. I know I'm the pilot, and we have high egos, but it was definitely just not me out there.”
— Patrick Hill2:14
Key Quote
“An important note is that during most of the burns today, when crude aircraft are flying, the drones are not.”
— Patrick Hill2:55
Key Quote
“What the drones are great at is dull, dirty, and dangerous jobs.”
— Patrick Hill3:08