INNOVATION November-December 2017

LEGEND

Hypothetical TMC Location

Traffic Signal and Field Equipment

Radio Device

C

UAV

T he rapid advancement in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, combined with reduced costs for each new UAV generation, creates enormous potential for numerous applications for drones. Transportation engineers, striving to improve the level of service for all road users through use of intelligent infrastructure and equipment, have the opportunity to consider drones as components of next-generation intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Future ITS may include a limitless number of applications for UAVs, but one expected application involves the use of drones as nodes of wireless communication mesh networks. Traffic Management Centre Communication Network A key component of any traffic management centre is its communication system. In BC’s traffic management centres, communication between centre operators and field equipment is established through implementation of in-house systems that comprise either hundreds of kilometers of fibre-optic cables or in-house-designed radio mesh networks. A third option uses, for a

However, by placing a radio on a drone, the required height can be easily achieved ( Figure C ). In such a case, each drone used would become one node in the mesh network. In theory, drones can be used to build either a temporary mesh network by communicating to each other, or a composite network by combining drones with nodes of the stationary permanent infrastructure. Nodes of the permanent infrastructure might include previously installed static radio devices or street lighting fixtures upgraded with seven-pin receptacles and hardware designed for communications purposes. Use of drones as network nodes would demonstrate their value during widespread power outages or under conditions where existing static equipment has malfunctioned. During extreme events, such as high-magnitude earthquakes that cause city-wide power outages and disrupt cell phone and landline communication systems, drones equipped with appropriate routers could provide wide-ranging internet WiFi as the only mode of communication established through a wireless mesh network.

fee, existing infrastructure owned by local telecommunications service providers. In the long term, using an in-house radio mesh network provides the least expensive and most advanced solution for traffic management communications. In these systems each device—or node— communicates to one or more other devices within range, as long as no external obstacle interferes with the communication pathway ( Figure A ). Along obstacle-free pathways, communication between devices deployed farther away can be established, leading to fewer devices being used ( Figure B ). Typically, obstacles are avoided by installing radio antennas at higher elevations, which can be challenging.

DRAFTING | DESIGNING | DETAILING | ESTIMATION Services Offered n Vessel & heat exchanger designing / detailing n Pipe spooling and cut sheets

Worked with n Piping fabricators n Module yards n Platework, vessel and exchanger fabricators n Custom fabricators and manufacturers

n Conversion of sketch to CAD and 2D to 3D n Estimation - material take off, dia-inch count n BOM creation n Manpower supply at client site

Tele: 780.468.0950 Fax: 780.468.6481

Email: info@aptechts.com www.aptechts.com

I N N O V A T I O N

N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7

2 7