UAS Sensor Emplacement Auger Soil Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for deploying sensors in hard-to-access locations, such as soil, require external equipment and material sampling, making them unsuitable for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) due to size and power constraints, and struggle to directly measure key soil characteristics like moisture content and compressive strength during the augering process.
Innovation Solution
An autonomous sensor emplacement system mounted on UAS that uses internal sensors to determine soil characteristics by analyzing auger motor RPM, motor current, weight on auger bit, and system vibration, employing machine learning techniques like Gaussian process regression to predict soil moisture content and compressive strength, thereby optimizing the augering process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional systems use external equipment and material sampling to analyze soil composition, then measurement precision can be achieved, but device complexity and weight increase beyond UAS capabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the soil analysis function from external equipment and integrates it directly into the auger assembly. The auger itself serves as both the drilling tool and the sensor array carrier, eliminating the need for separate external analysis equipment. This reduces overall system complexity while maintaining measurement capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The auger assembly is designed to perform multiple functions: mechanical drilling, moisture sensing, and compressive strength measurement. By making the auger multi-functional, the system eliminates the need for separate specialized equipment for each measurement type, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining precision.
2Measurement precision
If additional sensors are added to directly measure moisture content and compressive strength during augering, then measurement precision improves, but weight and power consumption increase beyond UAS limits
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensing functions into the auger assembly structure itself. The auger serves as both the mechanical drilling element and the housing for moisture and compressive strength sensors. This merging eliminates the need for separate sensor mounts and reduces overall weight while enabling precise measurements.
Solution Approach 2:
The auger assembly performs self-measurement by incorporating sensors that directly monitor its own operation during drilling. The system uses its own motor current, rotational speed, and penetration data as measurement inputs, eliminating the need for separate external sensing equipment and reducing weight.
3Measurement precision
If conventional systems remove and analyze soil material externally, then analysis precision is achieved, but loss of time occurs due to sampling and external analysis requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs soil characteristic measurements during the augering process itself, before the drilling is complete. By continuously monitoring moisture and compressive strength in real-time as the auger penetrates the soil, the system eliminates the need for separate post-sampling analysis, thereby reducing time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous measurement throughout the augering process without interruption. The sensors operate continuously as the auger drills, providing ongoing soil characteristic data without the need to stop for external sampling or analysis, thus maintaining continuous useful action and reducing total time.
4Productivity
If the augering process does not adapt to real-time soil conditions, then device complexity remains low, but productivity decreases due to inefficient drilling through varying soil types
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses real-time feedback from sensors monitoring auger motor current, rotational speed, and penetration depth to dynamically adjust drilling parameters. This feedback loop enables the system to adapt to varying soil conditions automatically, improving productivity without requiring overly complex manual control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The augering system dynamically adjusts its operation based on real-time soil condition data. By making the drilling process adaptive and responsive to changing conditions rather than static, the system improves efficiency and productivity while keeping the control logic relatively simple through automated responses.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for sensor emplacement using unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). In some examples, a UAS includes a propulsion system and a sensor emplacement system including an auger and one or more motors. The UAS includes a control system configuring for controlling the propulsion system to land the UAS at a sensor emplacement site and controlling the one or more motors of the sensor emplacement system to drive the auger into soil at the sensor emplacement site. The control system is configured for measuring one or more augering parameters from the sensor emplacement system; and determining, using an autonomous system trained on soil data and augering data, one or more soil classification values for the soil based on the one or more augering parameters.