Sen·ti·nel
A soldier or guard whose job is to stand guard and keep watch.
Problem Storyboard
Evacuation
Many are forced to evacuate on foot. Forced to navigate through contaminated and dangerous flood waters.
Disaster
A hurricane hits a coastal region and its thousands of inhabitance need to be evacuated.
Response
Teams may not be prepared for a medical emergency that could happen in the field.
Location
Rescue teams take precautions but it takes time to locate and evacuate people.
Problem Identification and Insight
Airships have the ability to continue flying for up to 3 days before having to refuel.
Coast Guard helicopters have an average loiter time of 2.5 hours and are inefficient means of searching.
Opportunity
How can we utilize the unique capabilities of the airship to improve search and rescue efficiency?
Approach
Acting as an aid to search and rescue, Sentinel is designed to act as a surveillance and communications hub for coastal disasters.
Sentinel is a force multiplier for existing rescue assets.
Event Timeline
Rapid Search and Rescue
In the early stages of a major earthquake or flood response, when a large number of sites need checking, emergency teams conduct rapid searches to maximize the opportunities to save lives.
Flood Event
Streets are flooded, causing cars to move, fences and structures to break, and chemicals to pollute the waters. .
Response
Teams may not be prepared for a medical emergency that could happen in the field.
Location
Rescue teams take precautions but it takes time to locate and evacuate people.
Design Goal
Design an airship interior to enhance the coordination and efficiency of the crew to aid in search and rescue operations.
Final Design
This shows that each member of the crew has equal and optimal access to all components with full line of sight through the entire air ship.
Drones
The function of search and rescue will be conducted by drones. These drones will be autonomously deployed. The drones have a pre-programed AI driven flight path. It will search a given area and notify the UAV crew of any survivors. They can then take control of the drone to communicate with the survivor, collecting information and advising them on what they should do next. Then contacting local rescue personnel and notifying them of the situation.
Quad-Rotor UAV
Nimble and able to navigate through obstacles.
Ability to establish communication.
Autonomous deploy, search, and retrieval process.
Fixed Wing UAV
Long range search.
Identifying people in need.
Autonomous deploy, search and retrieval process.
Location of the drone hanger bay
The hatch to the hanger bay is located near the entrance of the gondola. However the crew is not intended to enter the hanger unless there is a problem that can not be solved by the crew remote controlling the robotic arm to fix the problem.
This video demonstrates the function of the hanger bay in the airship. Because the hanger bay utilizes two types of drones, it requires a flexible system that can perform three tasks for each drone. First the retrieval system for the quad rotor drone utilizes an automated articulating arm to retrieve the drone and place it on the charging panel. The drone utilizes contact charging points located on the landing gear where it makes contact with the panel to recharge for its next deployment. The fixed wing drone has a catching hook located at the vertical stabilizer. This hook catches a line that is lowered below the hanger bay. The line is brought up to the hanger bay where the articulating arm retrieves the drone and places it on the conveyor belt. The hook also functions as a charging contact point to recharge for next deployment. When the drones are fully charged they can be deployed remotely through the hatch in the floor. The fixed wing drones utilize gravity to accelerate then deploy their wings to initiate their search.
Final Components
Kitchen + Facilities
Keeping the essential areas compact allowed space to open in the communal area.
Outfitted with enough storage for a three day mission.
It has a peg board for storage and organization.
The bathroom is positioned furthest from the kitchen area.
Sleep + Storage
To create seclusion, each bunk includes a privacy door.
The bunks also have cubby storage for each crew member.
The closet on the left provides storage for clothes and on the exterior are slots for extra file organization.
Communal Area
The couch acts as a physical separation between the work area & the living area.
There is a deployable table that is used when the crew is eating a meal or relaxing.
Consoles
The UAV and Communications console have a similar base layout but a few changes for their specialized function.
The UAV console has joysticks for piloting the drones manually.
The Communications has a trackball which requires less surface space than a mouse.
The cupboards and drawers have angled edges for opening.
Wooden tray has inductive charging for portable devices.
Flight deck is optimized to be ergonomic and allow the most visibility for the pilot.
Ocean Search and Rescue
Locate
The drone locates the missing vessel and reports back to the airship crew.
Assist
The airship contacts local coast guard to rescue the vessel.
Search
Long range drones are deployed to search the surface for survivors or lost vessels.
Receive
A call is received about a missing vessel off the coast.
Rescue
The coast guard then takes lead in rescuing the vessel and the crew.
Land Search and Rescue
Disaster
A hurricane hits a coastal region and its thousands of inhabitance need to be evacuated
Shelter
Local residences are left with little food and communication equipment
Solution Story Board
Locate
A drone locates the civilians and notifies local rescue team to evacuate the survivors
Rescue
The rescue team goes directly to the survivors with the necessary medical equipment
Assist
The drones could also lead survivors to a local refugee camp to receive assistance.
Ideation
Project Aspects
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Megan Ostrowski: CMF, Living Area, Hanger Bay, Animations, Rendering, Project Manager.
Trevor Greenwood: Work Area, Master Assembly, Rendering.
Logan Field: Living Area, Rendering, Presentation.
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• Design the gondola interior for a humanitarian airship.
• This vehicle will deliver the cargo, personnel, and services needed for a disaster management.
• It will land and moor in a strategic location and provide a base of operations for the relief team.
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Time: 10 weeks
• Design a gondola interior to fit within the dimensions of a standard shipping container. (40’x7.5’x9’).
• Include a storage room with dimensions of 20’x7.5’x9’.
• The Gondola must house all the necessary assets for the crew to accomplish their task.
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• 3D visualizations of the interior design from multiple vantage points
• Animations of 3D CAD (fly throughs, doors opening, cargo moving, etc)
• 3D CAD model of gondola with all internal components.
• VR experience of CAD model interior.
• Physical scale model
Design Objectives
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Distinction between living and work spaces using the same design language and without a physical barrier.
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Considering the crew members could be flying for up to three days, making sure the gondola has appropriate functional areas.
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Celebrate the revival of old technology in the new world.
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Designing familiar interactions in the gondola is important to create a comfortable experience for the crew.
Airship Blocking
Communal
Lounging/Eating
Being in the center, the communal area provides leisure and separation.
Work
Flight deck/UAV/Comms
The work area consists of the flight crew equipment for search and rescue missions.
Living
Human Needs
To create a healthy work life balance, the living area is far away from the work section.
Airship Crew
Pilot (1)
Pilot in Command/(PIC) Flies aircraft, navigates, maintains altitude and position during slow maneuvers. Their only job is to aviate.
Pilot Equipment
Flight Control Deck/Computer Interface Radio Channel/Headphones
Communications Officers (1-3)
Detailed navigation and weather tracking, air traffic communication, and interfacing with mission control/headquarters of the airship. Acts as the “gate” between other comms and pilots.
Comms Equipment
Main Workspace/Computer Interface/Radio Channel/Headphones
UAV Fleet Operators (2-4)
Control of “swarm” drone operations. Primary mission is to set search grids, and monitor automated flight/telemetry of numerous unmanned
UAV Equipment
Drone Control Deck/Computer Interface/Radio Channel/Headphones
Gondola Arcutecture
Work
Designated consoles/. Navigation Controls
Medical
First Aid Medicine
Entrance
Ramps/Ladder Hatch/Deployable Bridge
Kitchen
Sink/Microwave/Fridge/ Utensils/ Storage
Rest
Bunks/Mattress/Seating/ Cushions/Tables
Hanger
Drone Charging/Quad-UAV/ Fixed wing UAV/Mechanical Arm
Bathroom
Toilet/Sink/Shower /Washer/Dryer
Layout
Prioritizing efficiency was the ultimate goal of the layout iterations. Through iterating, we discovered many instances to improve the flow.
Detail Moodboard
By celebrating the revival of airship technology, the language developed follows as an ode to retro-futurism.
Considering form, texture, accents, affordances, etc..
The Goal for this is to celebrate the revival of old technology in the new world using a design language that fallows a retro futurism style.
CMF Moodboard
Leaning into creating a nurturing environment for the airship crew.
Considering the interaction of color, material, & finish.
The Goal for this is to create a familiar environment to emphasize the new technology.
ABS Plastic - Matte
Interior Molding
Frosted Glass
Windows/Cabinets
Brushed Aluminum
Window Trim
ABS Plastic - Gloss
Accent Surfaces
Primary color is orange because it is used by the Coast Guard to identify their vessels and for citizens to recognize them.
Sage green is complimentary to orange and is a calming interior color.
Framework, windows, and utilitarian surfaces are aircraft standards.
Kitchen + Bathroom Ideation
The kitchen and bathroom unit is one of the largest modules on the ship. Refining the function and design language informed many other details of the airship.
Ideation for this component utilized a program called Viscom AI to quickly render sketches and generate variations on the design. Testing included adding materials and changing perspectives with isometric and orthographic sketching.
Work Area Ideation
Optimizing space in the work area allowed for more space to be created in the communal and living wings.
Hanger Ideation
This was the first component designed in order to validate the function of the airship. The focus was on creating a drone hanger which could deploy, retrieve, and recharge drones without direct human intervention
What I Learned
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This project had 3 people working on many different components which needed to relate to each other. Organization and communication presented itself as a problem very early on. So I decided to take on the role of Project Manager to optimize workflow of the team. I accomplished this by creating a list of tasks to delegate and objectives to discuss during our meetings. A timeline was also created to better communicate what component would be completed, who was working on it, and when it would be done.
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With many different components it was important that each component related both to the function and comfort for the crew. This included research into industry standards and human reaction to specific colors or materials.
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This project presented an opportunity to experiment with new AI software in design. I primary utilized Viscom for the ideation of kitchen and washroom to get variations and renders of the sketches I produced. I also used Adobe Fierfly to create the story board images. The images were edited with highlights to direct attention to particular story points.