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here is the DASC paper I just submitted. now I just have to start and finish my thesis before the end of the month…
COMPARISON OF SEE-AND-AVOID PERFORMANCE IN MANNED AND REMOTELY PILOTED AIRCRAFT
check out this sweetness that microsoft actually did:
click on download, and install it. it’s like google earth… but the known universe!
edit: apparently google has had something out called google sky, it’s pretty cool but this definitely trumps it…
The abstract I posted a few weeks ago got accepted yesterday! now I just have to actually WRITE the paper that’s getting published… booo
Do you ever feel like every time something could go wrong, it does? I have this flight test that I’ve scheduled about 5 different times… and every single time we get ready to do it something goes wrong and it gets pushed back another week. And here’s the funny part, I’m supposed to get almost 20 of these flight tests done before the end of the quarter and I can’t even get the first one underway…. RAH!!!!!!!
Here is my abstract for the paper I’ll hopefully be presenting at the DASC in october.
‘See-and-avoid’ is the current FAA approved method for pilots to avoid objects
and other aircraft while flying in visual meteorological conditions. Although
fully autonomous ‘sense-and-avoid’ or ‘detect-and-avoid’ systems are in
development, none are currently certified. Thus existing unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) operations are limited to case-by-case restricted airspace or
require escort by manned aircraft. Many UAVs are equipped with at least a
forward-looking camera. In the transition between current technology and
future fully autonomous, certified sense-and-avoid systems, it seems reasonable
to require a ground-based operator to perform the see-and-avoid function. The
purpose of this project is to compare the obstacle and traffic detection
capability of a UAV operator to that of an actual pilot flying a manned aircraft.
The traffic may consist of other airplanes, hot air balloons, hang gliders et
cetera.
For this project subject pilots will follow a flight path as specified by an
accompanying safety pilot. The subject pilot will be directed to identify any
aircraft in their field of view during the flight, notifying the data collector when
an aircraft is spotted. In order to remove the focus from the traffic detection,
the safety pilot will also ask the subject to perform tasks and maneuvers
common during pilot training. For this experiment, we will use a Piper Warrior III
aircraft as the traffic.
The test aircraft is a Piper Saratoga (one of the Ohio University Avionics
Engineering Center’s flying research laboratories) and will be outfitted with
three cameras (one forward looking and 2 peripheral). These cameras will be
attached to a computer that will record the video feeds. Subject pilots flying the
Saratoga will be evaluated and will be accompanied by a safety pilot and a data
collector. The data collector’s job will be to record the time that the subject
identifies the traffic each time it passes into the pilot’s field of view.
After each flight, data will be processed to determine the time the subject
identified the traffic, and the range to the traffic. GPS receivers onboard the
Saratoga and Warrior III will be used to record the position of each aircraft over
the course of the flight. In a separate test, the subject will watch the video
recorded from a different subject pilot’s flight. The subject will be asked to
identify the intruder aircraft and will notify the data collector who will record the
time. This test will simulate a UAV operator designated with the task of
obstacle and traffic detection.
The results of these tests will be used to assess the efficacy of ground-based
UAV operators to provide equivalent see-and-avoid capability. Currently the
UAV community is drafting regulations for UAV operations with precious little
data available to assist in the decision-making. The data provided in this
experiment could greatly benefit the community as UAVs make the transition
from restricted-only airspace into the broader national airspace system.
grad school sucks. i have negative free time. only 380 days til it’s over
so I took an elbow to the face playing chairball in the pool on friday. results (5 stitches) show below:
nothing.
