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SENSORSOLUTIONSPLAYCRITICALROLESINENABLINGINNOVATIONIN

DRONES

ChrisWinkler

Intoday’sfastgrowingdronemarketsegment,sensortechnologiesareoftentheunheraldedsecretsauceinside.Inthisarticle,wediscussthecurrentstateofdronesandthesensortechnologythatempowersthem.Industrialdronesareasubstantialgrowthindustry.ThemarketresearchfirmTracticaestimatesthatannualworldwideshipmentsofcommercialdroneswillincreasefromthecurrent80,000unitstoapproximately2.7millionunitsin2025.Servicesenabledbythesedronescouldgenerateannualrevenueof$8.2billion.Inthepast,innovationsindronetechnologyextensivelyfocusedonmilitaryapplications.However,recentlythetrendhasinsteadstartedtofocusonthecommercialmarket.Herearesomeimportantindustryverticalswheregrowthisexpected:CargoTransportandDeliveryDronescanbeusedtotransportmedicinesandsmallerutilityitemstoandfromareasthatareremoteornotreadilyaccessiblebyconventionalmeans.Theycanalsoplayaroleindeliveringsuppliestodisasterstrickenareassuchasthosethathaveexperiencedearthquakes,floods,anddiseaseoutbreaks.Forcommercialdelivery,AmazonandGooglealsoannouncedin2013thattheyareplanningtousedronesaspartoftheirdeliveryservicetodeliverorderstotheircustomerswithinacoupleofhours.OnecriticalhurdleisFAAflightrules.Althoughdronesarecurrentlylimitedtolineofsitefromtheoperator,furthermodificationofFAArulesmayallowbeyondvisualrangedeliveriestocommence.TheFAAcurrentlyhasacommitteeof27companiesandtradeassociationscurrentlyinvestigatingandrecommendingflightrulesforcommercialdronesbasedondronesizeandflightpathsoverpeople.Weexpectcontinuedfocusondefiningtestsandflightrules,withtheultimategoalofallowingautonomousdronestobecomeapartofeverydaycommerce.MonitoringandSurveyingSurveyingandmonitoringarealsoasubstantialgrowthsector.Someexamplesincludegeomagneticsurveying,whichcanbeusedtopredictthelocationofmineraldeposits,gasandoilpipelinemonitoring,disasterareainspection,andwildfiredetectionandprevention.Otherusedincludeinvestigationanddatacollectionsuchasarchaeology.Archaeologistscanusedronetechnologytocreatethree-dimensionalmodelsofsites,whichcansavemonthsoftimefortheresearchers.

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ConservationandAnimalRightsConservationgroupsandanimalsrightsorganizationsareusingdronestogoodeffectintheireffortstocurbabuse.Forexample,TheWorldWildlifeFundforNature(WWF)startedtousedronesin2012tohelpaidconservationeffortsinNepal.Theywereusedtomonitorthepopulationsofrhinos,tigers,elephantsanddeer.TheWWFhasalsoworkedwiththeNamibiangovernment,usingdronestohelpreducerhinopoaching.Anti-whalingactivistssuchasSeaShepherdhaveuseddronestomonitorJapanesewhalingships.LawEnforcementForthelastseveralyears,policeinmanycountrieshaveuseddronestomonitorsuspectsandpublicplaces.Dronesmaybeequippedwithnon-lethaltoolssuchasTaserstoidentifycriminalsandfacilitatearrest.AnexampleofthisisbeingtestedinNorthDakota,withTaser-armeddronesknownasPredators.Otherdronesareequippedwithsensorstoidentifychemical,biological,radiologicaland/ornuclearmaterials.CommercialFilmmakingThemediaandfilmmakersmakeuseofdronestocaptureimagesandvideo,whichwouldotherwisebetakenbyahelicopterorexpensivecranegear.Dronesreducecostsdramatically,andcanalsoimprovetheprocessbybeingmoreagileandmaneuverable,offeringthedirectormoreflexibilitytogettherightshot.Dronesarealsousedtocapturesportingeventstogetadynamic,close-uplookattheathletesorgameinprogress.Thesedronescapturetheexcitementofamovingimagethatprecedesorfollowsafastmovingathlete.Accelerometersensorsworkwiththeguidancesystemofthedronetomakethatpossible.AnexampleofacommerciallyavailabledroneforfilmmakingisDJI’sPhantom3,whichisextensivelyusedforfilmmaking,andwithapriceofonly$999,isoneofthelowercostdronesavailableinthemarket.Recently,GoProhasannouncedthatitwillbeinvestinginadrone,whichusesitscameraforvideorecording.AgricultureDronesuseinagriculturehasincreasesubstantiallyoverthelastseveralyears.Farmersusedronestomonitorandimprovecrophealthandirrigation,livestocklocationandgazingpatterns.Givenissuessuchasdealingwithseveredrought,droneswillbecomeincreasinglyimportantasausefultoolfortheagricultureindustry.AccordingtoaBankofAmericaMerrillLynchglobalresearchreport,theagriculturaldronemarkethasthepotentialtogeneratemorethan100,000jobsintheU.Sand$82billionineconomicactivitybetween2015and2025.

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HealthcareTheuseofdronesinhealthcareisalsogainingattention.Smalldronescanbeusedinsideofmedicalfacilitiestoefficientlyandautonomouslycarryanddelivermedicinetothebedsideofapatient.Theycanalsobeusedtodelivercriticalitemssuchasbloodforanalysisandmedicalsupplies.Ambulancedronesarealsobeingtested.Thesedronescanbeusedtodeliverautomaticexternaldefibrillatorsincreasingthesurvivalrateswithcasesofcardiacarrests.PrototypeshavebeenconceivedanddevelopedbyTUDelftUniversityintheNetherlands.TheTechnologyThatMakesDronesWorkGiventhecurrentgrowthtrendsfordrones,whataretheunderlyingsensortechnologiesthatmakethemwork?

Figure1–Caption:MEMSICSensortechnologiesareusedinavarietyofwaysin

moderndronetechnologiesandsolutions.

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AccelerometersAccelerometersareusedtodeterminepositionandorientationofthedroneinflight.LikeyourNintendoWiicontrolleroryouriPhonescreenposition,thesesmallsilicon-basedsensorsplayakeyroleinmaintainingflightcontrol.MEMSaccelerometerssensemovementinseveralways.Onetypeoftechnologysensesthemicromovementofverysmallstructuresembeddedsmallintegratedcircuit.Themovementofthesesmall‘divingboards’changetheamountsofelectricalcurrentmovingthroughthestructure,indicatingchangeofpositionrelativetogravity.Anothertechnologyusedinaccelerometersisthermalsensingwhichoffersseveraldistinctadvantages.Itdoesnothavemovingparts,butinsteadsenseschangesinthemovementofgasmoleculespassingoverasmallintegratedcircuit.Becauseofthesensitivityofthesesensors,theyplayaroleinstabilizingon-boardcameras,whicharevitalforapplicationslikefilmmaking.Bycontrollingupanddownmovement,aswellasremovingjitterandvibration,filmmakersareabletocaptureextremelysmoothlookingvideo.Additionally,becausethesesensorsaremoreimmunetovibrationsthanothertechnologies,thermalMEMSsensorsareperfectindroneapplicationstominimizeproblemsfromtheincreasedvibrationgeneratedbythemovementofrotatingpropulsionfans/propellers.InertialMeasurementUnitsInertialmeasurementunitscombinedwithGPSarecriticalformaintainingdirectionandflightpaths.Asdronesbecomemoreautonomous,theseareessentialtomaintainadherencetoflightrulesandairtrafficcontrol.Inertialmeasurementunitsutilizemulti-axismagnetometersthatareinessencesmall,accuratecompasses.Thesesensechangesindirectionandfeeddataintoacentralprocessor,whichultimatelyindicatesdirection,orientationandspeed.TiltSensorsTiltsensors,combinedwithgyrosandaccelerometersprovideinputtotheflightcontrolsysteminordertomaintainlevelflight.Thisisextremelyimportantforapplicationswherestabilityisparamount,fromsurveillancetodeliveryoffragilegoods.Thesetypesofsensorscombineaccelerometerswithgyroscopes,allowingthedetectionofsmallvariationsofmovement.Itisthegyroscopecompensationthatallowsthesetiltsensorstobeusedinmovingapplicationslikemotorvehiclesordrones.CurrentSensorsIndrones,powerconsumptionanduseareimportant,particularlythosethatarebatterypowered.Currentsensorscanbeusedtomonitorandoptimizepowerdrain,safechargingofinternalbatteries,anddetectfaultconditionswithmotorsorother

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areasofthesystem.Currentsensorsworkbymeasuringelectricalcurrent(bi-directional)andideallyprovideelectricalisolationtoreducepowerlossandeliminateopportunityforelectricalshockordamagetotheuserorsystems.Sensorswithfastresponsetimeandhighaccuracyoptimizethebatterylifeandperformanceofdrones.MagneticSensorsIndrones,electroniccompassesprovidecriticaldirectionalinformationtoinertialnavigationandguidancesystems.Anisotropicmagnetoresistive(AMR)permalloytechnologysensors,whichhavesuperioraccuracyandresponsetimecharacteristicswhileconsumingsignificantlylesspowerthanalternativetechnologies,arewell-suitedtodroneapplications.Turnkeysolutionsprovidedronemanufacturerswithqualitydatasensinginaveryruggedandcompactpackage.EngineIntakeFlowSensorsFlowsensorscanbeusedtoeffectivelymonitorairflowintosmallgasenginesusedtopowersomedronevarieties.ThesehelptheengineCPUdeterminetheproperfuel-to-airratioatspecifiedenginespeed,whichresultsinimprovedpowerandefficiency,andreducedemissions.Manygasenginemassflowsensorsemploycalorimetricprincipalutilizingaheatedelementandatleastonetemperaturesensortoquantifymassflow.MEMSthermalmassairflowsensorsalsoutilizecalorimetricprincipalbutinamicroscale,makingithighlysuitableforapplicationswherereducedweightiscritical. MEMSIC’sTechnologySuiteforComplexSystemsMEMSIC’sMEMStechnologyisunique,inthatitcombinesruggedsiliconwaferfabricationwithintegratedcircuittechnology,allononechip.Thisincreasestherobustnessofthesensorsandsystemswhileprovidingmaximumtolerancetohighgforcesandvibration.MEMSIC’sportfolioofaccelerometersareusedinawidevarietyofapplications,andinadditiontodrones,playacriticalroleforexample,inautomotivesafetysystemssuchasstabilitycontrolandrolloverdetection.MEMSIC’saccelerometersarethermalsensorsasdescribedabove.Becausetherearenomovingparts,justmovingmolecules,therobustnessisunmatched.Thesamebasictechnologyusedsoeffectivelyinmeasuringaccelerationcanalsobeusedtomeasuregasflow.MEMSIC’smassgasflowanddifferentialpressuresensorsaresmallinsize,andofferclassleadingpowerconsumptionanddynamicrange.Theyareperfectformobileapplicationssuchasthegas-powereddronepicturedaboveandnewclassesoftherapeuticmedicaldevices.MEMSIC’sseriesofinertialnavigationunits(IMUs)areusedinhundredsoftypesofaircraft.TheseFAAratedunitsplayanincreasinglyimportantroleinguidancefor

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newtypesofaircraftandsystemswheredirectionalaccuracyisamust,fromagriculturaldronestoautonomousvehicles.MEMSIC’snewIMU380productlineissmall,rugged,anddesignedforapplicationslikepersonalaircraft,drones,andfarmequipment.Tiltsensorswithgyrocompensationareessentialtokeepingindustrialandconstructionmachinerylevel.Thesehighlyaccuratesensorsplayaroleinsafetycriticalapplications.Thesearealsousedinconsumerproductslikeridinglawnmowersandmotorcycles.Insubsystemswherepowerconsumptionmonitoringisessential,MEMSIC’scurrentsensorsofferimprovedovertemperatureperformance,increaseddynamicrangeandresolution,andincreasedbandwidth.Sensorsaremoreessentialtocomplexproductsthanever.Intoday’scriticalenvironments,safetyandsecurityofsuccessfuloperationsrelyoncriticalinputthatisderivedfromhighlyaccurateandreliablesensingtechnologies.More About MEMSIC MEMSICInc.,headquarteredinAndover,Massachusetts,providesadvancedsemiconductorsensorsandmulti-sensorsystemsolutionsbasedonmicro-electromechanicalsystems(MEMS)technologyandsophisticatedintegrationtechnologiesinboththeIClevelandmodulelevel.MEMSIC’suniqueandproprietaryapproachcombinesleading-edgesensortechnologies,suchasmagneticsensors,accelerometers,flowsensorsandcurrentsensorswithmixed-signalprocessingcircuitrytoproducereliable,highquality,cost-effectivesolutionsforthemobilephone,automotive,consumer,industrial,medicalandgeneralaviationmarkets. For More Information MEMSIC Inc., One Tech Drive, Suite 325, Andover, MA 0180 Tel: 978-738-0900 Fax: 978-738-0156 Email: info@memsic.com www.memsic.com PR Contact: Mark Shapiro 1 619 249 7742 mshapiro@srs-techpr.com AcknowledgementsWewouldliketothankNortheasternUniversitygraduatestudentsGayatriKakarla,RithvikNarayanan,RachelParkin,andKeXuanandAssociateProfessorTuckerMarionfortheirparticipationingatheringmarketresearchforthisarticle.

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