Unmanned Aircraft

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Eric W. Frew - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Field observation of tornadic supercells by multiple autonomous fixed‐wing Unmanned Aircraft
    Journal of Field Robotics, 2020
    Co-Authors: Eric W. Frew, Brian Argrow, Steve Borenstein, Sara Swenson, C. Alexander Hirst, Henno Havenga, Adam L. Houston
    Abstract:

    This paper presents the results of the design and field deployment of multiple autonomous fixed‐wing Unmanned Aircraft into supercell thunderstorms. As part of a field campaign in Spring 2019, up to three fixed‐wing Unmanned Aircraft were deployed simultaneously into different regions of supercell thunderstorms, To learn more about the atmospheric conditions that lead to the formation of tornadoes. Successful field deployment is attributed to (a) a nomadic concept of operations that allows the Unmanned Aircraft system team and science team to work seamlessly together while satisfying all aviation regulations and (b) the ruggedized RAAVEN Unmanned Aircraft system with modular features that favor rapid, ease‐of‐use over the brute strength of previous designs. The concept of operations and the Unmanned Aircraft system are described along with results from a 4 day window where four storms were sampled: two of these storms were tornadic (formed tornadoes before, during, or after being sampled) and two were not. These results validate the feasibility of nomadic operation of multiple Unmanned Aircraft simultaneously in severe weather conditions. Further, the successful field deployments demonstrate the importance of the modular Unmanned Aircraft design

  • Communication‐Aware Information‐Gathering Experiments with an Unmanned Aircraft System
    Journal of Field Robotics, 2017
    Co-Authors: Maciej Stachura, Eric W. Frew
    Abstract:

    This paper presents single and multiAircraft flight experiments to assess an information-theoretic path planning algorithm that incorporates sensing and communication to guide an Unmanned Aircraft. The communication is modeled with packet erasure channels for each link in a multihop mesh network. The planning objective is to maximize the mutual information between the target state and measurements received at a single base station from all Aircraft. A novel Unmanned Aircraft system was developed to facilitate experiments with multiple Unmanned Aircraft utilizing multihop mesh networking. The value of communication-aware planning was assessed through flight experiments with a single Aircraft localizing a radio emitter. Additional experiments with two Aircraft demonstrated and assessed the performance of the approach, showing that the improvement in sensing can be appreciable when utilizing multihop communication.

  • conducting Unmanned Aircraft flight operations under federal aviation administration regulations
    2015 ASABE Annual International Meeting, 2015
    Co-Authors: Wayne Woldt, Maciej Stachura, Jacob Smith, Eric W. Frew, James Mack
    Abstract:

    Abstract. The conduct of research using Unmanned Aircraft systems represents tremendous opportunity, and at the same time challenges, in terms of complying with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. This paper documents research and practice on procedures, expectations, and protocols for conducting flight operations within the context of an FAA issued Certificate of Authorization or Waiver (COA). The material is based on two years of successful flight operations with a single engine fixed wing Unmanned Aircraft system (UAS). Current research is focused on aeronautical performance measures to document UAS capability in an agricultural setting. This involves flights to define the capability of an Unmanned Aircraft to place pixels on target. All research flights comply with COA requirements and protocols, which are described and summarized in this paper. The opening of the National Air Space to Unmanned Aircraft systems will have significant implications for the agricultural sector. UAS will offer a tremendous opportunity to place crop and soil sensors, robotics, and advanced information systems at more timely and desired locations for increasing production and improving efficiency of agricultural operations. The ability to conduct research for the advancement of Unmanned Aircraft is possible under FAA regulations, and is described in this document.

  • ACC - Unmanned Aircraft systems for communication and atmospheric sensing missions
    2013 American Control Conference, 2013
    Co-Authors: Eric W. Frew, Brian Argrow, Dale Lawrence, Jack Elston, Maciej Stachura
    Abstract:

    This paper describes the Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles Heterogeneous Unmanned Aircraft System. The Unmanned Aircraft system is comprised of a fleet of small and miniature Unmanned Aircraft connected through a multi-tiered, net-centric command and control architecture. Components of the Unmanned Aircraft system are described, including different airframes, autopilots, ground control stations, payload sensors, and networking middleware. Emphasis is placed on the design of the system for in situ atmospheric sampling and communication applications.

  • optimizing cascaded chains of Unmanned Aircraft acting as communication relays
    IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 2012
    Co-Authors: Cory Dixon, Eric W. Frew
    Abstract:

    This work presents a decentralized mobility control algorithm for an optimal end-to-end communication chain using a team of Unmanned Aircraft acting solely as communication relays. The chaining controller drives the location of a virtual control point, using estimates of the communication objective function gradient calculated using stochastic approximation techniques, to locations of improved relaying for Unmanned Aircraft. The gradient estimate is derived from observation data of the communication objective function taken along a path generated by the Aircraft orbiting about the control point. Flight experiments show that an Unmanned Aircraft can measure the signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio fields from IEEE 802.11b/g (WiFi) communication links; generate estimates of the field gradients using the least-squares gradient estimation method; and use the gradient estimates to drive a control point to a location that improves communication capacity.

Daniel A. Delaurentis - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Opinion Survey to Reduce Uncertainty in Public and Stakeholder Perception of Unmanned Aircraft
    Transportation Research Record, 2016
    Co-Authors: Lauren Bowers Reddy, Daniel A. Delaurentis
    Abstract:

    Although providing significant benefits compared with manned Aircraft or ground systems, Unmanned Aircraft also introduce costs and risks. Because of the rapidly increasing number of Unmanned Aircraft operating in the United States, the air transportation community must develop a framework for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs and risks. Public opinion will inevitably shape this framework, but that community’s perception of how the public perceives Unmanned Aircraft is considerably uncertain. Thus, in this investigation, an opinion survey was administered to assess participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices about Unmanned Aircraft. The survey was taken by 400 individuals representing the general public and 135 individuals representing key stakeholder groups. The survey responses illustrate the complexity of stakeholders’ and the general public’s opinions about Unmanned Aircraft. Most respondents reported that their support or opposition to Unmanned Aircraft is conditional. Risks, appl...

  • Opinion Survey to Reduce Uncertainty in Public and Stakeholder Perception of Unmanned Aircraft
    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2016
    Co-Authors: Lauren Bowers Reddy, Daniel A. Delaurentis
    Abstract:

    Although providing significant benefits compared with manned Aircraft or ground systems, Unmanned Aircraft also introduce costs and risks. Because of the rapidly increasing number of Unmanned Aircraft operating in the United States, the air transportation community must develop a framework for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs and risks. Public opinion will inevitably shape this framework, but that community’s perception of how the public perceives Unmanned Aircraft is considerably uncertain. Thus, in this investigation, an opinion survey was administered to assess participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices about Unmanned Aircraft. The survey was taken by 400 individuals representing the general public and 135 individuals representing key stakeholder groups. The survey responses illustrate the complexity of stakeholders’ and the general public’s opinions about Unmanned Aircraft. Most respondents reported that their support or opposition to Unmanned Aircraft is conditional. Risks, application, environment, and benefits all have a strong impact on support and opposition. A statistical analysis of several questions was completed with a multinomial logit model to determine whether certain demographic or stakeholder groups were more likely to hold a certain position. Some groups with consistent responses to all three questions were identified. In the general public, women were generally less supportive of Unmanned Aircraft than men, and respondents younger than 36 were more supportive than older respondents. Of the stakeholders, pilots and employees of the airline industry were less supportive. The statistical findings reduce the uncertainty of opinions about Unmanned Aircraft.

Suzanne Odom - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Lauren Bowers Reddy - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Opinion Survey to Reduce Uncertainty in Public and Stakeholder Perception of Unmanned Aircraft
    Transportation Research Record, 2016
    Co-Authors: Lauren Bowers Reddy, Daniel A. Delaurentis
    Abstract:

    Although providing significant benefits compared with manned Aircraft or ground systems, Unmanned Aircraft also introduce costs and risks. Because of the rapidly increasing number of Unmanned Aircraft operating in the United States, the air transportation community must develop a framework for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs and risks. Public opinion will inevitably shape this framework, but that community’s perception of how the public perceives Unmanned Aircraft is considerably uncertain. Thus, in this investigation, an opinion survey was administered to assess participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices about Unmanned Aircraft. The survey was taken by 400 individuals representing the general public and 135 individuals representing key stakeholder groups. The survey responses illustrate the complexity of stakeholders’ and the general public’s opinions about Unmanned Aircraft. Most respondents reported that their support or opposition to Unmanned Aircraft is conditional. Risks, appl...

  • Opinion Survey to Reduce Uncertainty in Public and Stakeholder Perception of Unmanned Aircraft
    Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2016
    Co-Authors: Lauren Bowers Reddy, Daniel A. Delaurentis
    Abstract:

    Although providing significant benefits compared with manned Aircraft or ground systems, Unmanned Aircraft also introduce costs and risks. Because of the rapidly increasing number of Unmanned Aircraft operating in the United States, the air transportation community must develop a framework for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs and risks. Public opinion will inevitably shape this framework, but that community’s perception of how the public perceives Unmanned Aircraft is considerably uncertain. Thus, in this investigation, an opinion survey was administered to assess participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices about Unmanned Aircraft. The survey was taken by 400 individuals representing the general public and 135 individuals representing key stakeholder groups. The survey responses illustrate the complexity of stakeholders’ and the general public’s opinions about Unmanned Aircraft. Most respondents reported that their support or opposition to Unmanned Aircraft is conditional. Risks, application, environment, and benefits all have a strong impact on support and opposition. A statistical analysis of several questions was completed with a multinomial logit model to determine whether certain demographic or stakeholder groups were more likely to hold a certain position. Some groups with consistent responses to all three questions were identified. In the general public, women were generally less supportive of Unmanned Aircraft than men, and respondents younger than 36 were more supportive than older respondents. Of the stakeholders, pilots and employees of the airline industry were less supportive. The statistical findings reduce the uncertainty of opinions about Unmanned Aircraft.

Johann C. Dauer - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • SAFECOMP Workshops - Considerations of Artificial Intelligence Safety Engineering for Unmanned Aircraft
    Developments in Language Theory, 2018
    Co-Authors: Sebastian Schirmer, Christoph Torens, Florian Nikodem, Johann C. Dauer
    Abstract:

    Unmanned Aircraft systems promise to be useful for a multitude of applications such as cargo transport and disaster recovery. The research on increased autonomous decision-making capabilities is therefore rapidly growing and advancing. However, the safe use, certification, and airspace integration for Unmanned Aircraft in a broad fashion is still unclear. Standards for development and verification of manned Aircraft are either only partially applicable or resulting safety and verification efforts are unrealistic in practice due to the higher level of autonomy required by Unmanned Aircraft. Machine learning techniques are hard to interpret for a human and their outcome is strongly dependent on the training data. This work presents the current certification practices in Unmanned aviation in the context of autonomy and artificial intelligence. Specifically, the recently introduced categories of Unmanned Aircraft systems and the specific operation risk assessment are described, which provide means for flight permission not solely focusing on the Aircraft but also incorporating the target operation. Exemplary, we show how the specific operation risk assessment might be used as an enabler for hard-to-certify techniques by taking the operation into account during system design.

  • Advances in Aeronautical Informatics - Towards Autonomy and Safety for Unmanned Aircraft Systems
    Advances in Aeronautical Informatics, 2018
    Co-Authors: Christoph Torens, Johann C. Dauer, Florian-michael Adolf
    Abstract:

    This chapter describes Unmanned Aircraft with respect to autonomy and safety aspects of aerospace. The focus will be on Unmanned Aircraft systems, however most of the principles regarding safety and automation are valid for both, manned and Unmanned aviation. As a means to assure safety for Aircraft, safety assessments, development processes, and software standards have been established for manned aviation. In this context, design-time assurance of software will be discussed. Another key component of the safety concept for manned aviation is the onboard pilot. The pilot supervises and validates the system behavior and develops a gut feeling if the system is okay, due to his onboard presence. This is not possible for an Unmanned Aircraft. Human supervision will be remotely located. Therefore, an extensive discussion on runtime assurance and automated supervision will be a part of this work. Furthermore, with the growing degrees of automation and upcoming autonomy of the Aircraft, one pilot might have to supervise more than one Aircraft at the same time. Unmanned Aircraft are expected to be integrated into civil airspace in the near future, possibly in very large quantities. The autonomy of these Unmanned Aircraft and the absence of a pilot onboard the Aircraft is a source of concern. However, the automation and autonomy can also support safety. The interdependence between safety and autonomy will be discussed in this chapter. The challenge regarding Unmanned Aircraft is that the same level of safety can be maintained. In this context, this chapter will discuss the impact of new and upcoming regulations and standards for Unmanned Aircraft regarding a holistic approach to the assessment of risk and their impact on autonomy and safety.

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