Browse Topic: Flight management systems
This paper presents enhancements to the supervisory controller developed for the National Research Council Canada's Bell 412 autonomous helicopter. Building on a Discrete Event System Specification (DEVS)-based framework, the updated Supervisor introduces two new operational modes-Knobs Mode and Sticks Mode-and a structured approach for managing transitions between them and the existing modes. Drawing inspiration from NASA's Flight Guidance System philosophy, the proposed design emphasizes consistency, scalability, and flexibility in handling multiple autonomy modes. Implementation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the updated architecture in supporting future expansion of autonomous mission operations in complex and dynamic environments.
This paper presents a distributed algorithm to track a desired target while fostering the emergence of a swarm formation and providing obstacle avoidance capability to deal with unknown scenarios. The proposed approach is based on the merge between a Flight Management System for global path planning and the definition of virtual forces through a custom Artificial Potential Field to prevent drones collisions between each other, with external objects and to provide cohesion of the swarm configuration. Each drone independently computes its global route and adjusts its path based on an optimal control action to minimize a potential energy function induced by its neighbors and obstacles. This approach results in a high cost-effective strategy to enhance UAVs autonomy level by managing a large group of drones, guaranteeing a low cost per unit thanks to the low computational effort and low-budget sensor suit while providing all the capabilities to accomplish the desired mission.
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This document recommends criteria for the control and display of communications and navigation equipment on the flight deck. The equipment includes: a Communications: Ultra high frequency (UHF), very high frequency (VHF), and high frequency (HF) radios, cabin/service interphones, public address (PA), select call (SELCAL), call select (CALSEL), satellite communications (SATCOM), and controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC). b Navigation: Very high frequency omnidirectional range (VOR), tactical air navigation (TACAN), automatic direction finder (ADF), distance measuring equipment (DME), instrument landing system (ILS), markers (MKR), very low frequency (VLF), inertial navigation systems (INS), inertial reference systems (IRS), global navigation satellite system (GNSS), global positioning system (GPS), low range radio altimeter (LRRA), and attitude heading reference system (AHRS). c Weather radar. d Data link: Company, Air Traffic Control (ATC), transponders (Mode-S), controller pilot data link communications (CPDLC), and others.
The development of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) is progressing fast. Yet, safety and standardization-related discussions are limited due to the recent nature of the sector. Despite the effort that is initiated to kick-start the study, awareness among practitioners is still low. Hence, further effort is required to stimulate this discussion. Among the available works on CAV safety, some of them take inspiration from the aviation sector that has strict safety regulations. The underlying reason is the experience that has been gained over the decades. However, the literature still lacks a thorough association between automation in aviation and the CAV from the safety perspective. As such, this paper motivates the adoption of safe-automation knowledge from aviation to facilitate safer CAV systems. The authors briefly elaborate on the widely discussed aviation themes, including autopilot and auto-throttle malfunctions, flight management system, human factors, and suggests how this knowledge can improve the safety of road CAVs use-case. Besides, the differences between the safety consideration in the two fields are also denoted. In summary, the main aim of this paper is to highlight the potential benefits of adopting aviation automation safety knowledge into safe CAV development. With the advances in the CAV, the authors are convinced that this subject could serve software developers and engineers in developing safe and standardized CAV technology.
This document recommends criteria and requirements for a flight management system (FMS) for transport aircraft. The FMS shall provide the functions of lateral navigation, vertical navigation, and performance management and may include time of arrival control. The FMS design shall take human factors considerations into account to produce a fault tolerant system.
Successful human intervention will be central to any emerging autonomous aerial transport platform, such as personal aerial vehicles (PAV), for the safe conduct of flight. This paper proposes a concept to compensate a partial failure of the autonomous flight guidance by handing over control of the aircraft to a passenger and analyzes the associated human factors. First, a novel waypoint guidance law is designed that generates the desired roll commands for navigation to a designated safe landing spot. Second, two novel guidance display concepts are developed, one for the primary flight display (PFD), and another for the helmet mounted display (HMD), which indicate the desired roll commanded by the guidance law. Third, the guidance law and display concepts are integrated into a high-fidelity, wide field-of-view flight simulation environment and a static mock-up of a conventional helicopter cockpit. Humanin-the-loop experiments were performed with test subjects to analyze the effectiveness of the guidance law and display concepts, and to evaluate piloting performance by non-professional pilots. Various mission task elements were analyzed in these experiments and, in order to intensify workload, a disturbance was included together with a guidance law for commanded roll of PAV. Navigation performance, test subjects' ratings and workload are measured by a combination of objective and subjective analyses. Results indicate that all test subjects were able to reach a close vicinity of the landing spot. Furthermore, the HMD concept shows a lower workload with equal or better navigation performance when compared to the PFD concept.
The objective of the joint National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and The Boeing Company Technology Development Program (TDP) entitled 'Canadian Vertical Lift Autonomy Demonstration' (CVLAD) is to evaluate automated and supervised autonomous flight systems on NRC Bell 412 Advanced Systems Research Aircraft (ASRA) and Royal Canadian Air Force Boeing CH-147F Chinook demonstrators. Boeing technologies such as Degraded Visual Environment Pilotage System and Advanced Vehicle Management System form the foundation of an autonomy solution that aims to satisfy Royal Canadian Air Force, US Army, and other Armed Service branch end-use objectives for force multiplication, tactical advantage, pilot assistance, reduced crew operations, and enhanced fleet productivity. The Boeing Company engaged NRC under a Cooperative Research Agreement since 2016 as part of a number of strategies to upgrade Medium-Heavy Lift H-47 Chinook capabilities prior to long-term aircraft replacement in the 2030 to 2060 timeframe. A recent achievement of the CVLAD TDP by its Boeing Phantom Works, Boeing Chinook Program, Aurora Flight Sciences, and NRC Flight Research Laboratory team was the development of Automated Flight Guidance methods addressing system safety and performance. Design and evaluation activities occurred in Boeing Software-/Hardware in-loop facilities as well as on the NRC Bell 412 ASRA. The CVLAD team is using a blend of traditional Systems Engineering 'V-Shaped' Life Cycle Model, System of Systems, and Model-Based processes to develop a cyber-physical system that aims to meet end-user concept of operations and requirements. Significant benefits of virtual development tools such as component-vehicle digital twins and surrogate inflight simulation facilities are achieved as they promote effective collaboration, efficient design, and relevant verification/validation methodologies. Business models can be made more robust by phasing the introduction of technology where effective automation provides users with near-term benefits, while providing a foundation for safe, reliable, and trusted autonomous capabilities for long-term production.
This document specifies requirements for an Approach to Landing Guidance System (ALGS) electronic device. This equipment shall display relative aircraft position and situation information for flight along precision three-dimensional paths within the appropriate coverage area. The precision three-dimensional path may be an ILS straight-in look-alike path or a complex, curved path. The requirements are applicable to electronic devices capable of receiving signals or other information from one or more sources, including but not limited to ILS, GNSS, or IRU inputs.
Landing helicopters in Degraded Visual Environments (DVE) is one of the most challenging maneuvers pilots perform. The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, Aviation & Missile Center, Aviation Development Directorate has been working to develop flight guidance and sensor systems to provide the pilot with guidance and pilot cueing to land a helicopter, hover, and take off in DVE. During flight testing of the Brown Out Symbology System (BOSS) on an EH-60L Black Hawk, pilots reported very high workload requiring full concentration on the displays during approaches to landing in brownout. In order to reduce pilot workload, an approach to provide the pilot with a collective tactile cue based on coupling of the output of the approach to landing algorithms to the EH-60L collective trim servo was developed and flight tested. Flight testing of the coupled collective system demonstrated a reduction in pilot workload and increase in the pilot's situational awareness during landing in brownout. To further reduce pilot workload, the pilot cyclic and pedals have been coupled with the guidance symbology to allow for fully coupled landings. Details of the system are provided along with the initial results of flight testing of the system at Felker Army Airfield, Ft. Eustis VA.
There is emerging demand for multi-ship sensor-based 3D world modeling (3DWM) for autonomy/cognitive decision aiding avionics applications. In these systems, multiple ships collect and transmit perception sensor data that is fused into a common 3DWM, which is then used by other platforms for flight guidance in that environment. This paper illustrates key design considerations for these systems by exploring the fundamental scenario of leader-follower. This paper will detail the design trade space for the leader-follower scenario, focusing on 3DWM database representation/processing and data transmission. To demonstrate the feasibility of a baseline design approach on modern computing hardware, results will be presented from an experimental evaluation of a proof-of-concept system.
Landing helicopters in Degraded Visual Environments (DVE) is one of the most challenging maneuvers pilots perform. The US Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has been working to develop flight guidance and sensor systems to provide the pilot with guidance and pilot displays to land a helicopter, hover, and take off in DVE. During flight testing of the Brown Out Symbology System (BOSS) on an EH-60L, pilots reported very high workload requiring full concentration on the displays during approaches to landing in brownout. In order to reduce pilot workload, an approach to provide the pilot with a collective tactile cue based on coupling of the output of the symbology display algorithms to the EH-60L collective trim servo has been developed and flight tested. Details of the system are provided along with the results of flight testing conducted at the Yuma Proving Grounds comparing workload from approaches to landing in brownout with and without the collective coupling engaged.
The information contained in this document is based on line experience with current systems. It should be used as a basis for ongoing research and development including the human factors aspects of future flight management systems and their interaction with the ATC environment.
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