The report mentions using FlightHorizon to supply moveable, real-time airspace situational consciousness for catastrophe aid flights after Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston space in September, 2017, and outlines particular advantages of the software program for the way forward for unmanned plane methods and integration into the US nationwide airspace.
Advantages and Functions of FlightHorizon from the NASA report.
Additionally, the report lays out NASA Armstrong’s general mission to allow autonomous methods and enhance the protection of the nationwide airspace:
“Armstrong is contributing to NASA’s Roadmap for Robotics, Tele-Robotics, and Autonomous Methods by way of analysis in a variety of areas, similar to synthetic intelligence, superior flight management legal guidelines, new testing strategies, collision avoidance applied sciences, and way more. Armstrong’s pioneering analysis into lifesaving collision avoidance applied sciences has the potential to be utilized past aviation and might be tailored to be used in any automobile that has to keep away from a collision risk, together with aerospace satellites, vehicles, marine autos, and extra.”
The report, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center’s Research, Technology, and Engineering Report 2017 [PDF] contains descriptions of the three initiatives and in addition mentions upcoming analysis utilizing FlightHorizon.
Right here is an extract containing the profiles of our initiatives with NASA: Armstrong Flight Research Center Research_Technology_and Engineering Report 2017 – Autonomous Systems_ADS-B [PDF]
Unmanned Plane Methods Detect-and-Keep away from
NASA and Vigilant Aerospace collaborated on flight demonstrations in late 2016 and revealed analysis in 2017 and 2018 on using the FlightHorizon software program to supply detect-and-avoid capabilities to unmanned plane:
“Innovators at Armstrong and Vigilant Aerospace Methods collaborated for the flight take a look at demonstration of an built-in ADS-B-based collision avoidance expertise on a small unmanned aerial system (UAS) outfitted with a micro ADS-B transceiver. The ADS-B Detect-and-Keep away from (DAA) system is able to offering small UAS with air-to-air collision avoidance towards manned or unmanned autos.”
NASA thought-about the checks to be extremely profitable:
“Armstrong and Vigilant Aerospace efficiently flight examined the ADS-B DAA system in December 2016 on the DJI Phantom 4 quadrotor small UAS to additional develop the expertise in three key areas: flight past visible line of sight, collision avoidance, and autonomous operations.”
The flight checks resulted within the publication of an AIAA SciTech paper on the challenge in 2018: NASA Publishes Paper at the 2018 AIAA SciTech Forum on BVLOS Flight Testing of FlightHorizon Detect-and-Avoid System
Here’s a video about our detect-and-avoid flight checks at NASA Armstrong:
The report additionally described using FlightHorizon in catastrophe aid flights carried out within the wake of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas Gulf Coast in September 2017:
“Vigilant Aerospace joined unmanned plane response workforce [Humanitarian-Drones.org] in Houston after Hurricane Harvey [who] used this expertise to supply harm evaluation and information assortment companies to the Federal Emergency Administration Company (FEMA) because it assessed flood harm within the better Gulf Coast area.”
Supersonic Plane Growth
FlightHorizon can also be getting used to supply airspace monitoring, situational consciousness, information assortment and flight logging for NASA supersonic plane take a look at flights, inspiring our improvement of our new FlightHorizon COMMANDER product.
We lately introduced that FlightHorizon had been used within the 2017 SonicBAT supersonic analysis flights at each NASA Armstrong and for offshore flights from NASA Kennedy to check new supersonic plane (FlightHorizon Used in NASA SonicBAT Research Flights for Situational Awareness, Airspace Logging) and the system was additionally chosen to supply airspace monitoring, flight logging and different options for NASA’s Business Supersonic Expertise program (FlightHorizon Selected by NASA Commercial Supersonic Technology Program 2018-2019 for Airspace Situational Awareness, Flight Logging).
A NASA F-18 jet has taken off from the company’s Shuttle Touchdown Facility at NASA’s Kennedy House Heart in Florida. A number of flights a day have been going down the week of Aug. 21, 2017 to measure the results of sonic booms. It’s a part of NASA’s Sonic Booms in Atmospheric Turbulence, or SonicBAT II Program. NASA at Kennedy is partnering with the company’s Armstrong Flight Analysis Heart in California, Langley Analysis Heart in Virginia, and House Florida for a program by which F-18 jets will take off from the Shuttle Touchdown Facility and fly at supersonic speeds whereas company researchers measure the results of low-altitude turbulence attributable to sonic booms.
The report mentions future use of our new product, FlightHorizon COMMANDER, to supply a floor management station for the flights:
“The workforce can also be working to exhibit an identical system on Boeing F/A-18 and F-15 platforms for supersonic flight operations.”
Be taught all about NASA Armstrong’s Business Supersonic Business Expertise program right here: Commercial Supersonic Technology Program at NASA Armstrong
Video overview of this system:
Light-weight Conformal Antenna Design
Lastly, the report mentions using FlightHorizon within the improvement of a brand new light-weight conformal antenna design. On this challenge, FlightHorizon is getting used to assist monitor plane and to steer ground-based monitoring methods to stay on-target: “The workforce is working to develop an ADS-B floor station for NASA’s Conformal Light-weight Antenna Constructions challenge, which is creating antennas that allow beyond-line-of-sight command and management for UAS.”
See the complete program profile right here: Conformal Lightweight Antenna Structures for Aeronautical Communication Technologies
Watch a video concerning the new antenna design right here:
About FlightHorizon
FlightHorizon is an entire autonomous detect-and-avoid and airspace administration resolution to ship situational consciousness, and instructions to self-separate and keep well-clear distances for each piloted and autonomous unmanned plane. The software program gives unmanned plane pilots with a 2D map-based view and 3D artificial cockpit view of the airspace and full sensor fusion throughout aviation transponders, radars and on-line information feeds. The system is designed to assist operators keep flight security and obtain past visible line-of-sight flight authorizations. Go to our Products and Services Overview for extra data on FlightHorizon.
