RAPID developed and equipped intelligent drones with extended autonomy incorporating hazard perception, autonomous navigation, swarm coordination, and smart energy management such that they can be deployed unsupervised and beyond visual line of sight in complex and dynamic environments. Combining digital twin technologies with embedded artificial intelligence, the drones are capable of detecting sub-mm faults in large scale concrete infrastructure, while also performing tasks to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals such as air quality monitoring.
UWS LiDAR simulator can synthesise real-world representative UAS perception-sensor data. It successfully virtualises the cost and risk of testing safety-critical flight software (for sense and detect hazard perception) and enables automated pre-flight risk assessment.
UWS developed a UAS perception digital twin, and worked on digitalising the EASA Specific operations Risk Assessment (SORA) and mitigating the risk of air-air swarm collision.
UL led the UAS Flight control work package, developing embedded detect and avoid systems, and within the RAPID use cases achieved a 3D perception of the environment by fusing data from multiple sensors. In a GPS-denied scenario this is addressed through a Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) system.
The Extended Energy Autonomy work package focused on reducing the energy loss of having a landing platform, for autonomous take-off and landing, as well as a Battery Hot swap (BHS) system on the USV developed by Fraunhofer. UL’s real-time automated take-off and landing approaches are developed on a drone, demonstrating cooperative UAV-USV solutions with extended autonomy. Port of Hamburg trials, showcase robustness and adaptability marking a significant advancement in maritime operations.
THL led the Maintenance-Inspection workflow and they were able to demonstrate YOLO algorithms can be used for crack detection. UL developed a photogrammetry workflow to undertake close quarter inspection of the cracks identified by the crack detector. UWS developed an Augmented reality display for 5D models accessible via the web with visualisation through wearable virtual reality headsets.
Results are on the social media platforms and website with videos showcasing the system tests. Conferences attended - TRA Lisbon 2022, Oceans Conference 2023, EASN 2023. The RAPID project has produced 20 scientific publications that will be available through the RAPID website and partner repositories. RAPID achieved all the objectives and hit every KPI within the project plan.
The impact of the project focuses on saving lives through an early warning system, and to ensure the outcomes were achieved the RAPID consortium actively contributed to advancing the current drone and inspection safety systems, engaging public stakeholder and informing the international standards and legal frameworks that will allow the work of RAPID to become commonplace.
