Subcanopy UAS development for watershed-scale surface and ladder fuel quantification (Step-2)

Monitoring pre- and post-fire landscapes at scales matching management action is challenged by an inability to characterize subcanopy structure, namely surface and ladder fuels. Uncertainty in subcanopy fuel conditions is limiting management actions concerning fuel treatments, active fire management, and mitigating impacts to air and water quality and ecosystem health. Transformational sensing capabilities will be key to characterizing the subcanopy, and unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) afford new scaling approaches. Yet, there has been limited use of UAS to provide subcanopy conditions. To address this, we need drones with sensor packages that can navigate through (vs over) a forest quickly and automatically return subcanopy data. To date, little effort has gone into such data collection. We propose to develop a fleet of autonomous drones with the capability to fly through the forest subcanopy, following a pre-set flight pattern with autonomous avoidance of trees and other obstacles. These drones will be outfitted with LiDAR and a multispectral sensor package to assess three-dimensional subcanopy fuels, bulk characteristics (living vs. dead), and moisture content. Our objectives are: 1) develop and test a UAS system capable of operating in the subcanopy during active fuel treatments in topographically complex regions, 2) use data collected from the subcanopy UAS to estimate surface and ladder fuel volumes, living/dead status, and size classes. We will demonstrate our system at the Nevada UAS Test Site and then at UNR's Whittell Forest & Wildlife Area. Whittell will be undergoing fuel treatment and field data collection during the timeline of the proposed work. This research is critical for local, state, and federal managers needing detailed fuel data for pre-fire and active-fire management. With confirmed support from CAL FIRE and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), our approach promises to revolutionize the characterization of subcanopy fuels, providing near-real-time data at various scales and engaging stakeholders at multiple levels.

Enhances the capabilities for existing science instruments for monitoring pre-fire, active-fire, and post-fire situations, reduces the power and mass of these instruments, and enables unprecedented observations in support of wildfire science through distributed observing systems and the information technologies needed for their support.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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