AEROSPACE AND DEFENCE Special report by Ged Henderson IN ASSOCIATION WITH:
GAINING ALTITUDE
The characterless concrete floor of a converted aircraft hangar sits many thousands of miles from the verdant jungles and rainforests of south east Asia.
However, today it is passing for those in an exercise designed to show how drone technology is being used in the region to detect landmines in remote areas, where the terrain is difficult and the dangers high.
It is all taking place at Altitude, a University of Lancashire facility being developed on the banks of the River Ribble to pioneer a new cluster of future air and space technology.
Altitude features one of Europe’s largest indoor netted environments for ‘Uncrewed Aerial Systems’. The exercise here, with drones seeking out ‘mines’ from the air using specially fitted magnetometers and robots scurrying across the ground to mark their location, has been set up to highlight the work being done inside it.
Altitude aims to be a game-changer. It has been created as the anchor and given the mission to kickstart the Warton Enterprise Zone.
Converted from former BAE Systems hangars and offices, the unassuming building sits at the end of its neighbour’s runway – the second longest in the UK.
It includes research labs, classrooms, a business incubation hub and a multi-use event space. With the confident strapline ‘Shaping tomorrow’s skies’, those behind the initiative have high hopes.
Unmanned aerial systems, AI, machine learning, immersive technology and space – Altitude looks to bring together academia and industry to shape the future.
A tour of the facility showcases some of the research and development work that is already underway, including developing drone
impact that can have on human decision making. Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) remote drone flying is another area of focus showcased on the tour. It’s an advanced type of piloting, allowing for operations at greater distances, which the Ukraine military used to devastating effect in a recent attack striking deep into the heart of Russia.
However, there are non-military benefits to its use, including in agriculture. The Altitude team is looking at the safety and operational challenges of BVLOS and how best to meet them.
We see Altitude as a bold step forward in terms of aerospace innovation. The aim is
for academia, industry and government to come together to shape the future
autonomy in environments where there is no GPS to determine location, altitude or speed.
In a room filled with big screens and tech, work is being carried out in big data visualisation – looking at how to represent large and complex datasets graphically, making them easier to understand and interpret and the
The arrival of Altitude and its importance to the development of the Warton Enterprise Zone were highlighted during the Convention of the North conference, held in Preston earlier this year and in the pages of the county’s emerging growth plan.
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