UAV Water Sampling Platform with Level-Wind Reel
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional water sampling methods are hazardous, costly, and limited in depth capability, as they often require human operators to be near polluted water bodies and can only sample up to a maximum depth of 400 feet due to FAA regulations, posing safety risks and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A drone-based water sampling platform (WaSP) with a configurable attachable plate and a level-wind reel system that allows for safe and efficient collection of water samples from greater depths, using a remotely controlled UAV to manage the sampling equipment and maintain control during flight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If human operators perform water sampling manually, then sampling can be conducted at various depths, but human safety is compromised due to exposure to polluted water and drowning risks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a drone as an intermediary carrier to transport sampling equipment and personnel to water bodies. The drone creates a physical barrier between human operators and hazardous water conditions, allowing sampling to be performed remotely while maintaining human safety. The sampling equipment is deployed from the drone, enabling contact with water without human exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual water sampling operations with an automated drone-based system. The drone's mechanical systems (motors, propellers, deployment mechanisms) substitute for human physical actions, eliminating the need for operators to directly enter or approach hazardous water areas while maintaining sampling capabilities.
2Length of stationary object
If conventional sampling methods are used, then equipment is simpler, but sampling depth is limited to 400 feet due to FAA regulations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from ground-based or surface-level sampling to aerial sampling using drones. This dimensional change allows the system to operate above FAA-regulated airspace boundaries, enabling sampling depths exceeding 400 feet by deploying equipment vertically from airborne platforms rather than from surface level.
Solution Approach 2:
The drone system is designed with multi-functionality to justify its complexity: it can perform water sampling, transport equipment, fly beyond regulatory depth limits, and operate in hazardous environments. This universal capability across multiple functions offsets the increased device complexity by providing versatile solutions to various sampling challenges.
3Productivity
If drones are used for water sampling, then human safety is improved and sampling depth is increased, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The drone system is segmented into modular components: the drone platform, sampling equipment, deployment mechanisms, and control systems. This segmentation allows for targeted complexity in only necessary areas while keeping other components simple. The modular design enables efficient sampling operations without requiring the entire system to be overly complex.
Data Source
AI summary
A UAV capable of sampling a hazardous body of water and a method of using the same. An electronic controller of the attached apparatus receives a first instruction to lower a sampling device at a specified rate into the body of water. The sampling device is connected to the apparatus via a line, and the sampling device is lowered by unspooling the line from a reel. The sampling device is lowered at the specified rate into the body of water based on the instruction and is retrieved from the body of water. A line-cutting device can cut the line should the sampling device get caught up in an obstruction.