Randy Berthold is a NASA Earth Scientist who specializes in the use of UAVs for data collection about ecological systems. Mr. Berthold began working with UAVs in the 1980s. In his career, he has worked with all kinds of UAVs, including hand-launched, small UASs to large vehicles that have a 100 foot wingspan.
Questions & Answers
Q: What is the most significant advantages of the UAVs you have worked with?
A: Different categories of UAVs have different strengths and weaknesses. With the small ones, we find their ability for easy deployment, shipping, operation, and maintenance very advantageous, and we try to use those whenever we can. In terms of using other UAVs, we decide which craft to use based on things like duration of the mission and how heavy the payload it is. The larger aircrafts obviously give us more resources in the sense that the fly longer and carry more.
Q: What are some situations where the use of UAVs are ideal?
A: We use UAVs quite a bit when sound is a factor- meaning you want to take observations while make as little noise as possible. It turns out that electric UAVs that are small, are ideal for sound-sensitive missions, like watching wildlife. Other than that, UAVs are really useful when we are working with a harsh environments, for example icy places, or situations with large updrafts, like fires, or even places where there are particles in the air that make it dangerous for humans to physically be there.
Q: How do you feel about synthetic biology at large?
A: Well, my opinion is still evolving. It is a new field of research, and it seems to have some immense potential to it. I think it’s full application has yet to be truly discovered. From what I have heard so far, though, it’s capabilities are well suited to advanced UAS development.
Q: What are the advantages of using synthetic biology in concert with UAVs?
A: The first that comes to mind is the environmental aspect of it. We fly in some very very sensitive environmental zones. If an aircraft was to be inadvertently lost or a component of some sort, the concept of biodegradability of an instrument is a very strong feature.
Q: We have realized recently that a pretty big issue with small UAVs is upmass.
A: Right, one of the limitations of certain types of UAV research is the mass and volume of the technology we would have to take. For example, mass spectrometers and particle counters are ridiculously large and hard to get into the air and consume a lot of power.
Q: What sort of things are you normally trying to sense?
A: If we’re mapping a volcano, we are concerned with emissions- SO2, CO2, and even water vapor distribution. If we are looking at a plume, we are concerned with particle distribution. We also are interested in identifying some species we see while employing these vehicles.
Q: What if synthetic biology could fix those upmass issues by replacing a mass spectrometer with a cell that was capable of sensing all the things you just mentioned?
A: Well, that changes everything.
Q: How else do you think synthetic biology can help with making UAVs better?
A: Well, being able to duplicate UAVs easily and with little expense could be enormously useful. It would be amazing to carry a small UAS with me to the Amazon, or to a volcanic site. It would be even more amazing to just make one on site.
Q: How do we counteract the stigma surrounding UAVs?
A: Well, to be honest, I think a lot of people have legitimate concerns. Safety is, of course, first and foremost. If we could come up with a very high level of confidence and a safety record for an aircraft, it would make use in the national airspace much more feasible and accepted. Communities are concerned about command and control, and I think scientists and engineers can work hand in hand to make the crafts safer and thus more appeasing to the public eye.
Read the Other Interviews
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