Last year, Alaska became the first state to use drones that ignite and drop explosives to trigger controlled avalanches in hard-to-reach slide paths after receiving approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Drones from Nebraska-based company Drone Amplified carry up to 10 pounds of explosives, called charges, and trigger them from the air.
Flying in charges is one of the latest advancements that aims to make avalanche control faster and safer. But it will take some time before the technology can start protecting drivers on Teton Pass or the Hoback River Canyon.
That’s because the systems in-place are working pretty well, according to avalanche specialist Donald Lawless with the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT).
Near Jackson Hole, prominent slide paths above the highway and some faces of Jackson Hole Mountain Resort are studded with large metal tubes or egg-shaped shells that store explosives. For the state, those remote avalanche controllers cost upwards of $300,000 to install and last 25 to 30 years, said Lawless. Meanwhile, the lifecycle of a Drone Amplified avalanche aircraft is closer to five years and costs just north of $200,000.
“The drone mitigation would, in my mind, never replace what we’ve got up there,” Lawless said of the state infrastructure.
Lawless is, though, starting this winter to use reconnaissance drones that cost one tenth of the bomb-carrying crafts. Those will be outfitted with cameras to peer into hidden slide paths, he said, and observe what happens after he tries to trigger a slide before it hurts people or buries the road, even at night.
As it stands, he said, “I don’t know how much of the path is affected. I don’t know if there is still any remaining hazard up there or if it’s taken care of.”
Drone Amplified came to developing an avalanche-specific machine after success with a drone that drops hard ping-pong-sized balls filled with chemicals to ignite fires. Those help wildland firefighters light prescribed burns before wildfires take off or counter big fires with one coming in the opposite direction.
Lawless said drones could help speed up the transition away from WWII-era Howitzer guns, but he worried about other hangups with the FAA and safety.
Drone Amplified’s pitch to more mountainous regions, such as Wyoming, Oregon, and Utah, is that the government hurdles aren’t as cumbersome as imagined and that communities will be safer with the nimble fliers.
“The FAA says, ‘What happens if it lands on a playground with a bunch of kids? We want to make sure it doesn’t go boom,’” said Carrick Detweiler, co-founder and CEO of Drone Amplified and former University of Nebraska professor in the engineering and computer science department. “The reality is, [it] requires a very precise and redundant protocol that actually will trigger the detonator.
In other words, there’s no way to pull a pin or push a button to cause it to go off.
The company says it has done demonstrations for Snowbird Resort in Utah and sees potential for mountain resorts in Wyoming and with WYDOT.
“We may not have systems everywhere,” Detweiler said. “But I think where [the drones] are will be really valuable for everyone in the state.”
This article has been updated to correct the state where Drone Amplified is based. It is based in Nebraska. — Ed.
