Surface Mount On-Blade Optical Telemetry System

AAM concepts use multiple distributed electric motors driving propellers and rotors to augment or directly generate lift and propulsive forces. Several current concepts incorporate separate drive systems for providing vertical lift, for takeoff and landing, and propulsive thrust for wing-borne cruising flight. Measurement of loads and performance on these rotating systems is very important in both the design and development stage, as well as for certification use and ultimately supporting HUMS monitoring. However, providing instrumentation in the rotating frame and extracting their associated measurements is often problematical, as it requires some means for both power and signals to bridge the rotating interface between the blade of the rotor/propeller and the fixed frame (fuselage) system. This paper describes work conducted to leverage prior CDI development of a novel optical telemetry/instrumentation system to create a prototype unit that can support ground and flight tests, allowing for multiple installations on the many rotors that constitute current AAM configurations. The resulting hardware was designed to expand the capabilities developed previously in types and rates of data collected, on-board processing, and user configuration options, supporting NASA and commercial organizations in their testing activities.