Drones may fly over Jersey Shore, under Rutgers research project

Press

NEW BRUNSWICK — Sea gulls and banner planes may not be the only things flying along the Jersey shoreline this summer.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced last month that a consortium of universities, including Rutgers, was one of the winners of a high-profile competition to get permission to test unmanned aircraft.

Though FAA officials have not finalized the locations of the test sites in New Jersey, the possibilities include a remote section of the Pine Barrens and a long stretch of airspace off the Jersey Shore from Toms River to the Ocean City area, according to those involved with the project.

Winning the highly competitive race to get FAA permission to test drones is considered a major coup for Rutgers and New Jersey. State and campus officials expect the test sites will help attract research money and startup companies to the state as entrepreneurs scramble to develop commercial uses for drones before the FAA opens airspace to unmanned flights.

In theory, model airplane-size drones could be used for everything from delivering packages to spotting traffic jams and monitoring crops on farms.

“Unmanned air systems is one of the lead growth areas,” said Thomas Farris, dean of Rutgers’ School of Engineering. “This will be a great economic growth opportunity for New Jersey.”

Rutgers partnered with Virginia Tech and the University of Maryland on one of the six winning applications chosen by the FAA to begin testing drones. The other winners include: Texas A&M University, the University of Alaska, the state of Nevada, Griffiss International Airport in upstate New York and North Dakota’s Department of Commerce.

Farris said one of the strengths of the Virginia Tech-Rutgers application was the variety of airspace that could be used to test drones. The two schools are part of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, a group of colleges and government and industry groups that has already run limited drone tests.

A two-page promotional document produced by the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership shows the consortium has more than 2,700 square miles of potential airspace over sections of New Jersey, Virginia and the ocean off the East Coast to test unmanned aircraft.

With the FAA’s permission, the drones could launch from a restricted area in Warren Grove — an area on the border of Ocean and Burlington counties — and fly over a largely unpopulated section of the Pine Barrens, the document shows. Then, the drones could follow a narrow corridor that leads to a swath of “special activity airspace” where the drones could fly over the ocean between Toms River and the Ocean City area of Cape May County.

Researchers will be cautious about testing flights, sticking with the remote Warren Grove site until they are confident their drones can safely fly over more populated areas, said Jon Greene, interim executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership.

The partnership expects to notify area residents if they are near the test sites approved by the FAA, Greene said.

“This is the sort of thing that has to be done with the utmost transparency,” Greene said.

Warren Grove has a long history of launching test flights. The area is home to the Warren Grove Gunnery Range, a military range where aircraft practice bombing runs.

Researchers expect their drone tests will not have much impact on the surrounding area. Most drones are small, low-flying and use little fuel, said Elsayed A. Elsayed, one of Rutgers’ top engineering professors and a lead researcher on the drone project.

Rutgers’ research will focus on technology to keep drones from crashing into other aircraft, Elsayed said. The university is also developing systems to help the aircraft descend safely and efficiently, with minimal noise.

There are many unanswered questions about drones, including how to monitor the aircraft from the ground and alert operators if the drone’s instruments malfunction, Elsayed said.

“We have to see if this will be a viable way of doing things,” Elsayed said.

Elsayed is working with a Pennsylvania company to develop drones to monitor long stretches of pipeline for leaks and intruders. He has also partnered with the nation of Qatar to create unmanned aircraft that would scan traffic jams and help locate dangerous intersections.

Rutgers students will also benefit from the university’s expanded drone research. Engineering students may get to build their own aircraft as a senior project, school officials said. Students will also get to work with professors and researchers on the FAA drone project.

http://www.nj.com/education/2014/01/is_it_a_bird_is_it_a_plane_rut.html