UAV Homeland Security Demonstration

A small UAV was flown as part of the first response to a scripted emergency scenario in which terrorist activity was simulated in the northern section of the Moffett Federal Airfield at the NASA Ames Research Center in California. Volunteers, playing the roles of infiltrating terrorists, penetrated Ames Security boundaries and contributed to the emergency event. In response to the event, the on-site Incident Command Center instructed the UAV team to provide surveillance data in near-real time. The UAV payload featured a uniquely packaged suite of instruments that included color and thermal IR digital cameras, a color videocam, and a chemical sensor. The acquired data were downlinked wirelessly to the UAV ground station for immediate processing. The georeferenced data were then transmitted to the Incident Commander’s customized display screens for use in identifying the threat and assisting in the apprehension of the suspects. The homeland security demonstration was a first step in expanding the value of operating small UAVs in the National Airspace System over urban environments.