Search Results (9)

In this paper, we propose and prove an innovative radar antenna concept suitable for collision avoidance (CA) systems installed onboard small, unmanned aircraft (UA). The proposed architecture provides 360° monopulse coverage around the host platform, enabling the detection and accurate position estimation of airborne, non-cooperative intruders using lightweight, low-profile antennas. These antennas can be manufactured using low-cost 3D printing techniques and are easily integrated into the UA airframe without compromising airworthiness. We present a Detect and Avoid (DAA) concept of operations (ConOps) aligned with the SESAR U-space ConOps, Edition 4. In this ConOps, the Remain Well Clear (RWC) and CA functions are treated separately: RWC is the responsibility of ground-based U-space services, while CA is implemented as an airborne safety net using onboard equipment. Based on this framework, we derive operation-centric design requirements and propose an antenna architecture based on a fixed circular array of sector waveguides. This solution overcomes key limitations of existing radar antennas for UAS CA systems by providing a wider field of view, higher power handling, and reduced mechanical complexity and cost. We prove the proposed concept through a combination of simulations and measurements conducted in an anechoic chamber using a 24 GHz prototype. Full article

In the maritime domain, hydrogen fuel cell propulsion and autonomous vessels are two important issues that are yet to be implemented together because of a few challenges. It is obvious that there are several individual safety studies on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships and hydrogen storage as well as fuel cells based on various risk assessment tools but the combined safety studies that include hydrogen fuel cells on autonomous vessels with recent risk analysis methods are extremely limited. This research chooses the “System-Theoretic Process Analysis” (STPA) method which is a recent method for potential risk identification and mitigation. Both hydrogen and autonomous vessels are analyzed and assessed together with the STPA method. Results are not speculative but rather flexible compared to conventional systems. The study finds a total of 44 unsafe control actions (UCAs) evolved from human and central control unit controllers through STPA. Further, the loss scenarios (LS) are identified that lead to those UCAs so that loss scenarios can be assessed and UCAs can be mitigated for safe operation. The objective of this study is to ensure adequate safety for hydrogen fuel cell propulsion on autonomous vessels. Full article

Urban air mobility (UAM) is a transformative mode of air transportation system technology that is targeted to carry passengers and goods in and around urban areas using electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. UAM operations are intended to be conducted in low altitudes where microscale turbulent wind flow conditions are prevalent. This introduces flight testing, certification, and operational complexities. To tackle these issues, the UAM industry, aviation authorities, and research communities across the world have provided prescriptive ways, such as the implementation of dynamic weather corridors for safe operation, classification of atmospheric disturbance levels for certification, etc., within the proposed concepts of operation (ConOps), certification standards, and guidelines. However, a notable hindrance to the efficacy of these solutions lies in the scarcity of operational UAM and observational wind data in urban environments. One way to address this deficiency in data is via microscale wind modelling, which has been long established in the context of studying atmospheric dynamics, weather forecasting, turbine blade load estimation, etc. Thus, this paper aims to provide a critical literature review of a variety of wind flow estimation and forecasting techniques that can be and have been utilized by the UAM community. Furthermore, a compare-and-contrast study of the commonly used wind flow models employed within the wind engineering and atmospheric science domain is furnished along with an overview of the urban wind flow conditions. Full article

Within the framework of the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, one of the main goals of the Labyrinth project was to develop and test the Conflict Management services of a U-space-based Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system. The U-space concept of operations (ConOps) provides a high-level description of the architecture, requirements and functionalities of these systems, but the implementer has a certain degree of freedom in aspects like the techniques used or some policies and procedures. The current document describes some of those implementation decisions. The prototype included part of the services defined by the ConOps, namely e-identification, Tracking, Geo-awareness, Drone Aeronautical Information Management, Geo-fence Provision, Operation Plan Preparation/Optimization, Operation Plan Processing, Strategic Conflict Resolution, Tactical Conflict Resolution, Emergency Management, Monitoring, Traffic Information and Legal Recording. Moreover, a Web app interface was developed for the operator/pilot. The system was tested in simulations and real visual line of sight (VLOS) and beyond VLOS (BVLOS) flights, with both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing platforms, while assisting final users interested in incorporating drones to support their tasks. The development and testing of the environment provided lessons at different levels: functionalities, compatibility, procedures, information, usability, ground control station (GCS) integration and aircrew roles. Full article

For the emerging autonomous swarm technology, from the perspective of systems science and Systems Engineering (SE), there must be novel methodologies and elements to aggregate multiple systems into a group, which distinguish the general components with specific functions. Here, we expect to provide a presentation of their existence in swarm development processes. The inspiration for our approach originates from the integration of swarm ontology, multiparadigm modeling, multiagent systems, cyber-physical systems, etc. Therefore, we chose the model-driven architecture as a framework to provide a method of model representation across the multiple levels of abstraction and composition. The autonomous strategic mechanism was defined and formed in parallel with Concept of Operations (ConOps) analysis and systems design, so as to effectively solve the cognitive problem of emergence caused by nonlinear causation among individual and whole behaviors. Our approach highlights the use of model-based processes and their artifacts in the swarm mechanism to integrate operational and functional models, which means connecting the macro- and micro-aspects in formalism to synthesize a whole with its expected goals, and then to verify and validate within an L-V-C simulation environment. Full article

During mission design, the concept of operations (ConOps) describes how the system operates during various life cycle phases to meet stakeholder expectations. ConOps is sometimes declined in a simple evaluation of the power consumption or data generation per mode. Different operational timelines are typically developed based on expert knowledge. This approach is robust when designing an automated system or a system with a low level of autonomy. However, when studying highly autonomous systems, designers may be interested in understanding how the system would react in an operational scenario when provided with knowledge about its actions and operational environment. These considerations can help verify and validate the proposed ConOps architecture, highlight shortcomings in both physical and functional design, and help better formulate detailed requirements. Hence, this study aims to provide a framework for the simulation and validation of operational scenarios for autonomous robotic space exploration systems during the preliminary design phases. This study extends current efforts in autonomy technology for planetary systems by focusing on testing their operability and assessing their performances in different scenarios early in the design process. The framework uses Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) as the knowledge base for the studied system and its operations. It then leverages a Markov Decision Process (MDP) to simulate a set of system operations in a relevant scenario. It then outputs a feasible plan with the associated variation of a set of considered resources as step functions. This method was applied to simulate the operations of a small rover exploring an unknown environment to observe and sample a set of targets. Full article

The project X-TEAM D2D (extended ATM for door-to-door travel) has been funded by SESAR JU in the framework of the research activities devoted to the investigation of integration of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and aviation into a wider transport system able to support the implementation of the door-to-door (D2D) travel concept. The project defines a concept for the seamless integration of ATM and Air Transport into an intermodal network, including other available transportation means, such as surface and waterways, to contribute to the 4 h door-to-door connectivity targeted by the European Commission in the ACARE SRIA FlightPath 2050 goals. In particular, the project focused on the design of a concept of operations for urban and extended urban (up to regional) integrated mobility, taking into account the evolution of transportation and passengers service scenarios for the next decades, according to baseline (2025), intermediate (2035) and final target (2050) time horizons. The designed ConOps encompassed both the transportation platforms integration concepts and the innovative seamless Mobility as a Service, integrating emerging technologies, such as Urban Air Mobility (e.g., electric vertical take-off and landing vehicles) and new mobility forms (e.g., micromobility vehicles) into the intermodal traffic network, including Air Traffic Management (ATM) and Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM). The developed concept has been evaluated against existing KPAs and KPIs, implementing both qualitative and quantitative performance assessment approaches, while also considering specific performance metrics related to transport integration efficiency from the passenger point of view, being the proposed solution designed to be centered around the passenger needs. The aim of this paper is to provide a description of the activities carried out in the project and to present at high level the related outcomes. Full article

Remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) are increasingly becoming relevant actors that are flying through the airspace and will gain much more importance in the future. In order to allow for their safe integration with manned conventional traffic in non-segregated airspaces, in accordance with the overall air traffic management (ATM) paradigm, specific enabling technologies are needed. As is well known, the detect and avoid (DAA) technology is fundamental among the enabling technologies identified as crucial for RPAS integration into the overall ATM system. In the meantime, to support extended surveillance, the universal introduction of cooperative automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) on-board aircraft is being increasingly implemented because it has the potential to allow for the coverage of the entire airspaces in remote areas not usually covered by conventional radar surveillance. In this paper, experimental results that were obtained through the real-time validation, with hardware and human in the loop (RTS-HIL) simulations, of an automatic ADS-B based separation assurance and collision avoidance system aimed to support RPAS automatic operations (as well as remote pilot decision making) are presented and discussed. In the paper, after an introductory outline of the concept of operations (ConOps) of the system and its architectural organization, in addition to basic information about the main system functionalities, a description of the tests that were carried out is reported, and the obtained results are described and discussed in order to emphasize the performance and limitations of the proposed system. In particular, the obtained quantitative performances are reported and commented on, and the feedback presented by pilots in order to improve the system, e.g., in terms of preferred typology of conflict resolution maneuver elaborated by the system, is described. Full article

Opening the sky to new classes of airspace user is a political and economic imperative for the European Union. Drone industries have a significant potential for economical growth according to the latest estimations. To enable this growth safely and efficiently, the CORUS project has developed a concept of operations for drones flying in Europe in very low-level airspace, which they have to share that space with manned aviation, and quite soon with urban air mobility aircraft as well. U-space services and the development of smart, automated, interoperable, and sustainable traffic management solutions are presented as the key enabler for achieving this high level of integration. In this paper, we present the U-space concept of operations (ConOps), produced around three new types of airspace volume, called X, Y, and Z, and the relevant U-space services that will need to be supplied in each of these. The paper also describes the reference high-level U-space architecture using the European air traffic management architecture methodology. Finally, the paper proposes the basis for the aircraft separation standards applicable by each volume, to be used by the conflict detection and resolution services of U-space. Full article