UAV Analysis

The UAV Analysis group seeks to answer the challenge of providing a safe network for UAVs to operate within which satisfy the needs of military, police, firefighters, EMS, commercial, and hobbyist users. Our main focus is developing interactive tools to assist designers, policymakers and other stakeholders determine the best rules and regulations for efficient and safe UAV operation. Specifically, our tools will allow stakeholders to input proposed regulations and design parameters and test them through simulation before implementation.

This problem is of immediate importance. The technology already exists for UAVs to be applied toward solving myriad problems, but the FAA has been slow to release regulations for low-altitude airspace. Meanwhile commercial applications of UAV are being tested in other countries while the U.S. is falling behind.

The benefits of a working system include saving lives and significant economic growth. Imagine dozens of UAVs searching for a lost child immediately following an amber alert or a drone delivering epinephrine to someone having an allergic reaction in gridlock traffic. The goal of our research is to facilitate the policy-making process that will make such situations a reality through the careful application of systems engineering.