Russian developers have launched a project for creation of a system that will make a task of taking off and landing of aircrafts and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the deck of a ship at sea and ocean development facilities quite a safe operation. The system, described as unique, will be presented by MariNet, the National Technological Initiative (NTI) working group, on the sidelines of the International Exhibition NEVA-2017 in St Petersburg, September 19-21.

A team of the Krylov State Research Centre (KSRC) will develop a concept and create a prototype of the helicopters/drones safe takeoff/landing system. The Centre's engineers have also developed for the project a technology for contactless measurement of airflow data near the runways/landing pads, which takes into account the flows around vessel superstructures and platforms and the formation of a separation sector. The system will display real-time data on the air flow in the area of helicopters/UAVs takeoffs and landings.

Also, the engineers have developed a technology for predicting the air flow patterns with increasing/decreasing wind speed and changing the ship relative bearing and speed. The system predicts the ship's or platform's kinematic parameters (amplitude and speed) to perform accident-free landings and takeoffs, the technology predicting the ship's kinematic parameters with a change in relative bearing and her speed.

The MariNet project specialists noted that the state-of-the-art domestic system of aircraft/UAV safe takeoff and landing on the deck of ships and offshore facilities will help significantly reduce the risk of accidents during the operation, as well as expand the boundaries of aircraft’s utilization by selecting the optimal bearing of the parent ship. The project developers believe the system will help create a significant competitive advantage of domestic drones and ships with aircraft/UAV landing pads over their foreign analogues.

“PortNews” Informational-Analytical Agency