Dmitry Kuzyakin, General Director of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions, noted that preparation is an important point due to the peculiarities of the human vestibular apparatus
MOSCOW, September 4. /tass/. The training of FPV pilots for the Russian Navy includes several nuances in connection with the peculiarities of the human vestibular apparatus, Dmitry Kuzyakin, General Director of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions (CCDB), told TASS.
"The Central Design Bureau has developed over 20 combat scenarios for the use of combat FPV systems, each of which requires special pilot training. One of these scenarios was created specifically for work on maritime targets, including unmanned boats, both from the shore and directly from the ship. Special training of UAV operators for the fleet is a very important point due to the peculiarities of the human vestibular apparatus. The CCDB cooperates with the Russian Navy, our center trained specialist instructors, who subsequently began training pilots on the basis of training centers," Kuzyakin said.
According to him, operators of FPV drones often face manifestations of seasickness both on water and on land. "We first encountered this problem when training FPV pilots to guard mobile columns of armored vehicles and just military columns. The essence of the problem is that when a person controls a drone from a moving vehicle, he begins to get very seasick. Even when you put specialists who have been trained and have good experience in a car, with uneven driving with bumps and turns, the FPV pilot starts to get seasick and sick if he controls the drone at this moment," Kuzyakin said.
Training to adapt to pitching
The specialist noted that the peculiarities of the functioning of the human body when controlling FPV systems need additional research from scientists. "When FPV pilots work on board a ship, a person's vestibular apparatus is out of sync: he is immersed in flight and sees one picture, but at the same time his body is subject to lateral, rocking and vertical overloads. This is an interesting phenomenon, which undoubtedly still requires research by specialists in the field of medicine and human biology," the head of the Central Research Bureau stressed.
Kuzyakin said that with special training, the human body adapts to these conditions. "For example, there is a video on the Internet where operators control FPV drones on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, sitting on a swing, and thus get used to the pitching. Such training is very important so that pilots at sea can do their job effectively when pitching and putting a heavy load on the vestibular apparatus. We have used this practice in the training of specialists from Russian law enforcement agencies involved in the protection of transport in motion. For the guys at sea, FPV drones are also used from mobile vehicles and the problem is approximately commensurate, only on land the overload is a little sharper and stronger, because the car moves quickly and maneuvers at the same time," the specialist said.
The Director General of the Central Research Bureau also said that the use of FPV in the fleet has several technical features due to the limitations of the amount of space on a warship. "The deployment of a combat crew with its equipment and personnel on constant combat duty requires special attention and solutions to many issues. You can't just add a new combat post to the living organism of a warship. The second point is the calculation itself. It's easy to fly when you're standing in the open air and even despite the pitching, you can adapt quite easily. Another thing is in the cramped compartment of the ship. This puts even more strain on the vestibular apparatus," Kuzyakin said.
In addition, the specialist noted that when flying over water, it can be difficult for the operator to estimate the altitude. "Pilots often strike water. There is no such problem above ground. There are many landmarks that warn of approaching the earth. As a rule, there are no such landmarks above the water," he added.
