scholarly journals The rapid development of bespoke small unmanned aircraft

2017 ◽  
Vol 121 (1245) ◽  
pp. 1683-1710 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Paulson ◽  
A. Sóbester ◽  
J. P. Scanlan
Keyword(s):  
Additive Manufacturing ◽  
Optimal Design ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Simulated Data ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Flight Testing ◽  
Performance Predictions ◽  
Aircraft Performance ◽  
Aircraft System

ABSTRACTThe ability to quickly fabricate small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) through Additive Manufacturing (AM) methods opens a range of new possibilities for the design and optimisation of these vehicles. In this paper, we propose a design loop that makes use of surrogate modelling and AM to reduce the design and optimisation time of scientific sUAS. AM reduces the time and effort required to fabricate a complete aircraft, allowing for rapid design iterations and flight testing. Co-Kriging surrogate models allow data collected from test flights to correct Kriging models trained with numerically simulated data. The resulting model provides physically accurate and computationally cheap aircraft performance predictions. A global optimiser is used to search this model to find an optimal design for a bespoke aircraft. This paper presents the design loop and a case study which demonstrates its application.

scholarly journals Unmanned Aircraft System Pilot/Operator Qualification Requirements and Training Study

2018 ◽  
Vol 179 ◽  
pp. 03006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shengjun Qi ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Li Jing
Keyword(s):  
Human Factor ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Operating Experience ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Pilot Training ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft System ◽  
Training Requirements ◽  
Professional Quality ◽  
Aircraft System ◽  
And Training

With the rapid development of Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) technology, UAS has become indispensable in military and civilian field. Growth in number of UAS and activity has required soaring demand for UAS pilot/operator who has become a hot profession in aviation. In this paper, the UAS classification and unique characteristics of operation are stated firstly. Then, considering current requirements about UAS Pilot/Operator qualification issued by aviation authorities in U.S, UK and China, the general and special qualification requirements are analyzed, which includes professional quality, medical requirements, psychological evaluation, training requirements, operating experience and cooperation. Furthermore, based on differences between UAS and manned aircraft pilot training, the training contents and methods, especially human factor and physiological health, are discussed, which is meaningful and helpful to selection and training of UAS pilot/operator.

scholarly journals Wheat Height Estimation Using LiDAR in Comparison to Ultrasonic Sensor and UAS

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 3731 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenan Yuan ◽  
Jiating Li ◽  
Madhav Bhatta ◽  
Yeyin Shi ◽  
P. Baenziger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Height ◽  
Rapid Development ◽  
Measurement Methods ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Light Detection And Ranging ◽  
Alternative Methods ◽  
Ultrasonic Sensors ◽  
Height Measurement ◽  
Proximal Sensing ◽  
Aircraft System

As one of the key crop traits, plant height is traditionally evaluated manually, which can be slow, laborious and prone to error. Rapid development of remote and proximal sensing technologies in recent years allows plant height to be estimated in more objective and efficient fashions, while research regarding direct comparisons between different height measurement methods seems to be lagging. In this study, a ground-based multi-sensor phenotyping system equipped with ultrasonic sensors and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) was developed. Canopy heights of 100 wheat plots were estimated five times during a season by the ground phenotyping system and an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), and the results were compared to manual measurements. Overall, LiDAR provided the best results, with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of 0.05 m and an R2 of 0.97. UAS obtained reasonable results with an RMSE of 0.09 m and an R2 of 0.91. Ultrasonic sensors did not perform well due to our static measurement style. In conclusion, we suggest LiDAR and UAS are reliable alternative methods for wheat height evaluation.

Recent NASA Wind Tunnel Free-Flight Testing Of A Multirotor Unmanned Aircraft System

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John V. Foster ◽  
Luke J. Miller ◽  
Ronald C. Busan ◽  
Sarah Langston ◽  
David Hartman
Keyword(s):  
Wind Tunnel ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft ◽  
Free Flight ◽  
Unmanned Aircraft System ◽  
Flight Testing ◽  
Aircraft System
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