UAS in EM Standard Operating Guide

Introductory text, etc.

Introduction

Overview

The Center for Disaster Risk Policy (CDRP) at Florida State University established the Unmanned Aircraft System research project to assess and improve the usability of small unmanned aircraft systems in the context of state, local, and federal disaster management. This project examines UAS hardware, software, policies and procedures, data collection methodologies, and crew training and education to develop best practices for UAS applications in emergency management.

CDRP is the applied and field research arm of the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Program at FSU, and CDRP faculty and staff have decades of operational emergency management, communications, and information technology experience.

UAS are gaining national attention as a new and exciting technology. Hobbyists and private citizens are acquiring UAS and using them to capture imagery and other data from a vantage point that was previously reserved for those with access to manned aircraft. Governments at all levels are expressing interest in how UAS can be applied to emergency management processes, including mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

Purpose of this Document

This Standard Operating Guide includes all non-aircraft specific information and operational guidelines for CDRP personnel operating a UAS.

Further, this document may be used as a template for any entity conducting UAS operations in support of emergency or disaster response agencies.

Published Location

This guide and all supporting documents is published at http://uas.cdrp.net