A 400-Foot View: UC San Diego’s Drone Program Provides a Unique Lens on Safety and Operations
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Picture a drone gliding over the windblown cliffs near Scripps Institution of Oceanography, its sensors mapping the slow creep of coastal erosion. Nearby, another takes to the air above a campus rooftop, its thermal camera scanning for heat loss through older windows. And somewhere across campus, a pilot guides a compact drone through the aisles of an indoor archive, searching for fire hazards above stacked collections.
Over the years, drones have been used at UC San Diego to support these and many other creative projects, providing valuable data to advance research, safety and operations on campus.
Navigating Uncharted Territory
At the center of this work is Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S), which partners with departments, researchers and operational teams to help them use the technology safely, legally and effectively. Led by Eric Delucien, UC San Diego’s UAS program manager, the program supports a wide variety of activities, from aerial imaging and infrastructure inspections to research missions and public safety collaboration. Just as important, it helps the campus community navigate an increasingly complex regulatory environment surrounding unmanned aircraft systems.
“Drone use today is a lot like the early automobile era,” Eric says. “The technology arrived before the roads, signs and rules were fully in place. When the FAA created a formal framework in 2016, it improved safety in the national airspace and created a clearer legal process for done operations.”
That structure is particularly important at UC San Diego given the campus layout, including its proximity to the ocean, military flyovers, hospital helicopter traffic and activity of a bustling main campus. It’s also vital because of the growth of drone activity. Since 2016, EH&S has helped log more than 1,500 flights from 220 users, totaling nearly 3,900 flight hours.
From sunny coastlines to ice-capped shores
Many of these flights are about discovery. Drones are helping UC San Diego research teams study everything from kelp canopies and vegetation health to seismic activity and shark movement.
Research scientist Greg Roberts leans on Eric and EH&S for several studies, including one in Antarctica focused on how natural airborne particles influence cloud formation, solar energy transmission and surface climate on the remote continent.
“Without Eric’s support, it would be every team an island and focus would be administrative rather than science,” Greg says. “He has been fundamental in securing airspace for FAA waivers that allow us to profile the atmosphere well above the 400-foot legal maximum and providing advice and crucial points of contact in negotiating the changing landscape of drone rules and regulations.”
In November, Greg’s team will head to Palmer Station in Antarctica to fly a drone to 3,000 feet, making it the first time airborne experiments have been conducted at the station.
A new approach to spotting hazards
Other drone flights supported by EH&S are focused on prevention and mitigation. The program has supported roof and fall-safety inspections, concrete spalling surveys, standing water inspections for pest control, oil spill and damage documentation, and mock search-and-rescue drills.
And other missions take a creative approach to uncovering out-of-sight safety concerns.
An indoor flight at the Trade Street warehouse library collection is one example. Since indoor drone operations can involve tight spaces and sensitive building systems such as sprinklers, they are not common. But micro-drones and first-person-view systems can be used when flights are carefully planned. In this case, the drone was flown above the archives to identify spacing concerns and combustible storage issues that might lead to a fire.
An eye toward the future
Beyond supporting drone flights, the program works behind the scenes to prepare for future drone operations. Recently, the campus Drone Council hosted UC San Diego’s Export Control Director for a discussion about considerations related to drone purchases, international travel and regulatory compliance.
EH&S also helps research groups build new drone programs of their own. Eric works with teams to think through operational planning, risk mitigation and FAA compliance, and he has also been invited on overseas research trips to support flight missions and safety planning.
“Our goal now and in the future is to ensure that as flights continue to expand and increase in number, they are carefully coordinated, conducted safely and legally, appropriately insured, and fully compliant with privacy and civil liberties protections,” Eric says.
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