Evaluating sensor technology for UAS collision avoidance

The problem of "sense-and-avoid" for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) is genuinely multi-dimensional: there is a wide range of UAS sizes, speeds, and maneuverability, as well as missions for which these UAS will be used. There are also a variety of sensors that might be used for sense-and-avoid, which have widely varying capabilities to measure distance or angle to an obstacle, as well as closing rate, and time to collision. Most sensors are not able to provide all required information about the geometry of an encounter; therefore, using a combination of sensors offers one possible solution. We are investigating the concept that there may be a variety of possible sensor solutions for each distinct UAS capability or mission. By studying the breadth of UAS types and missions, and selectively testing certain sensors in the field, we are evaluating the limits to the capabilities of sensors and sensor combinations. This report is on the progress of this multi-dimensional evaluation. We have scoped the dimensions for evaluating UAS capabilities and the capabilities of sensors. We are experimentally evaluating sensor parameters on a variety of aircraft to validate the specified capabilities. This reports on our methodology for field evaluation of sensor technology and the lessons learned on evaluation platforms and capabilities.     

Anti-aircraft artillery simulator

Air defense systems protect land and maritime resources from air attack. Depending on the regional characteristics and type of conflicting forces, air defense threats vary considerably. In regional conflicts, where forces with similar capabilities are involved and no air-superiority can be achieved, the role of air defense systems becomes critical. In combat terrains containing mountains (in mainland or in small islands), the man-operated or computer-controlled (using passive sensors) anti-aircraft artillery can be highly effective. The simulator presented in this work aims to exploit the capabilities provided by current commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) communication and multimedia technologies for providing a training environment that improves the personnel capability for effective use of man-controlled anti-aircraft weapons.     

Standardisation of the graphical and operator input device modulesfor tactical command and control man-machine interfaces

Since many of the MMI systems designed for tactical command and control operating environments are similar in nature, there is a need to standardise certain elements of the systems. This paper gives a summary of the investigation into standardising certain graphical MMI elements, and operator input device elements for tactical command and control systems. This standardisation allows for rapid prototyping on low-cost platforms, as well as enabling the code to be transferred easily between different operating platforms     

Ultra-reliable real-time control systems-future trends

Today's aircraft use ultra-reliable real-time controls for demanding functions such as Fly-By-Wire (FBW) flight control. Future aircraft, spacecraft and other vehicles will require greater use of these types of controls for functions that currently are allowed to fail, fail to degraded operation, or require human intervention in response to failure. Fully automated and autonomous functions will require ultra-reliable control. But ultra-reliable systems are very expensive to design and require large amounts of on-board equipment. This paper will discuss how the use of low-cost sensors with digital outputs, digitally commanded fault-tolerant actuation devices and interconnecting networks of low-cost data buses offer the promise of more affordable ultra-reliable systems. Specific technologies and concepts to be discussed include low-cost automotive and industrial data buses, “smart” actuation devices with integral fault masking capabilities, management of redundant sensors, and the fault detection and diagnosis of the data network. The advantages of integrating the control and distribution of electrical power with the control system will be illustrated. The design, installation, and upgrade flexibility benefits provided by an all-digital and shared network approach will be presented. The economic benefits of systems that can operate following failure and without immediate repair will be reviewed. The inherent ability of these redundant systems to provide effective built-in test and self-diagnostics capabilities will be described. The challenges associated with developing ultra-reliable software for these systems and the difficulties associated with exhaustive verification testing will be presented as will additional development hurdles that must be overcome     

Remote Sensing: The Next 50 Years

Remote sensing is viewed as a complete system for observing and managing man's environment on Earth. The sensing portion of the system consists of space, air, and ground observing platforms, sensors, communications, computational capabilities and interpretation, and recognition algorithms. The data are put to use using environmental models, geographic information systems, and management models. Progress and potentials in each of these system elements are reviewed and projected. Existing and potential uses are sketched and certain institutional, diplomatic, and national security issues are identified. Some underlying reasons for belief in continued progress are mentioned and the need for certain crucial choices in the future stated which will determine which of a number of possible futures will be realized.     

Formal verification and legacy redesign

Sustaining weapons system hardware and software represents a significant and ever-increasing portion of total system cost. Hardware components are becoming obsolete much sooner while weapons system lifetimes are increasing, We must identify more cost-effective solutions to engineering and reengineering these subsystems. Verifying and validating weapons systems are two of the most costly parts of either engineering process. Traditionally, hardware validation and verification is done by simulation and testing, In the past few years, math- and logic-based formal methods tools have begun to scale up to and be applied successfully to real-world problems. Incorporating formal verification methods into engineering and reengineering processes will cost-effectively and significantly improve the level of trust and the quality of our weapons systems. Formal methods are especially well suited for redesigning current weapon systems which have become unsupportable due to component obsolescence because they help minimize the astronomical costs of rigorously reverifying the reengineered components. We believe that formal methods are an important tool for effective engineering of future weapon systems     

Security technology

Security requirements and capabilities have changed dramatically over the past fifty years. Personal identification and detection of illegal substances including explosives have come to the forefront. With the proliferation of computers the security of information has also become a major concern. Substantial advances have been made over the last three decades in entry control, counter-terrorism, cryptology and airport protection. The utilization of technology has become an irreversible trend. Electronic devices and systems are capable of automatically and tirelessly monitoring and reporting breaches of security. For example, airport security began with physical protection of the facility with fences and area surveillance. The most recent concern is detecting explosives in both checked and early-on baggage, Other techniques relate to monitoring passengers for weapons as they transit the terminal building, especially crowds gathered at the metal detectors and X-ray machines. The application of electronics has produced reliability improvements and cost savings in systems that protect against unauthorized entry and numerous other threats. PCs have become the heart of security command and control systems. Most PC platforms rely on the proven software stability of Windows NT and present data in human-friendly, graphic format. It is expected that in the near future security monitoring will be consolidated in a central location, possibly to be integrated with other command and control functions     

基于航天测控的实时仿真系统设计

航天器发射试验具有高风险性,而承担航天器测控的测控系统规模庞大、关系复杂,其测控设备、软件的正确性关系到试验成败。仿真技术的广泛应用,使设备、软件的正确性在发射任务前就可以得到充分验证,从而提高发射试验的安全性。以航天器试验任务为背景设计的实时仿真系统,在航天测量船上得到了成功应用,取得了良好的效果。     

Firewire in modern integrated military avionics

High performance communications, navigation, and identification (CNI) functions on modern military aircraft are increasingly required for mission readiness. The operation of simultaneous waveforms through an integrated avionics rack of shared resources becomes a test in moving data rapidly from one signal processing stage to the next. The IEEE 1394, or Firewire, is a commercial high bandwidth bus whose 64-bit addressing and maximum 400 Mbits/second throughput satisfies this demanding military avionics interconnect need. The challenge in applying this commercial product to integrated avionics is the requirement to seamlessly add message priority encoding. By having message priorities, the slower strategic communications links will not impair the performance of higher data rate tactical communications, thereby avoiding potentially life-threatening bottlenecks. The flight environment imposes additional challenges to ruggedize the cabling between integrated avionics racks and to utilize the full capabilities of the Firewire bus. A discussion of the physical, data link, network, and transport layers, as used in avionics applications will be done. Additionally, the versatility of 1394 in military avionics with its variable channel sizes, bandwidth on demand, hierarchical addressing, and upgrade to 800 and 1600 Mbps with a 64-bit wide data path, is emphasized. Finally, system maintenance advantages of 1394's hot pluggable features are discussed, with an eye toward cost reduction on the flight line and total operational time of the aircraft avionics systems     

Convergence on two-level maintenance

The US Department of Defense is seeking an integrated maintenance methodology that provides increased operational availability of weapons systems with a reduced logistics pipeline. In this context the author discusses a systems engineering methodology for newly designed systems and a transition plan for existing systems that will accommodate two levels of maintenance. The first level will encompass an onboard monitoring and diagnostics system that will monitor the health status of the weapons system and initiate diagnostic procedures as abnormalities arise. The second level will consist of low-cost mission-specific suitcase testers     

基于资源共享的分布式机载软件测试系统设计

随着装备软件系统的发展,越来越多的硬件功能软件化,装备软件的发展朝着高综合、高集成、一体化的趋势发展。目前航空航天装备软件中,嵌入式软件占据主导地位,相较通用计算机软件,嵌入式软件的测试具有面向特定应用,有实时操作系统支持,运行芯片和平台较为固定,并且需要特定的数字总线资源进行数据注入等特点。尤其对于复杂的,高度综合化模块架构的嵌入式软件系统软件测试,对于测试和验证系统的要求也越来越高,数据采集、数据记录、数据激励、数据监控、数据分析等各种测试和验证系统的需求也使得综合化软件测试验证系统结构越来越复杂,基于分布式架构的软件测试系统已经成为必然趋势。结合嵌入式综合化软件测试系统的功能要求以及测试系统的特点,提出了一种基于对等架构下的分布式测试系统设计,该设计不仅能够满足嵌入式软件运行平台规模的扩展,也能够在分布式架构下实现软件运行平台内部资源的共享。     

惯导平台系统研究进展与发展趋势思考

现代军事应用中,远程导弹武器主要功能是精确打击关键军事目标,制导精度成为其首要性能指标。当前,国内外远程武器采用的主流惯性器件为惯导平台系统,平台框架在发射前可控制台体旋转实现自对准、自标定等功能。在导弹飞行过程中,平台控制台体稳定于惯性空间,通过隔离角运动提高惯性仪表使用精度,因而成为远程制导系统的首选惯性器件。我国惯导平台系统技术从20世纪60年代起步至今,先后经历了滚珠轴承平台、气浮陀螺平台、动调陀螺平台、静压液浮平台以及三浮平台系统的发展历程。目前,在研新型远程导弹制导系统主要采用基于三浮陀螺及陀螺加速度计的三浮平台系统,其关键技术包括亚微米精度特种材料加工与装配技术、抗高过载环境高可靠三浮惯性仪表技术、惯性/天文复合制导技术以及惯导平台自对准与自标定技术。近年来,以光学陀螺、半球谐振陀螺等为代表的新型惯性仪表的工程应用精度逐步提升。以平台稳定控制技术为基础,构建基于新型固态陀螺的惯导平台体系架构,将会推动我国远程武器性能跨越式发展。通过分析光纤陀螺、半球谐振陀螺等新型惯性仪表的技术优势以及新一代制导系统小型化、数字化、智能化等性能需求,对我国远程制导用惯导平台技术发展提出了几点建议。     

飞行器测控通信技术发展趋势与建议

在研究国内外测控通信技术现状与发展动态的基础上,梳理出未来测控通信发展趋势：将走向综合化网络、高精度和航天器自主导航,发展光学测控通信技术,提升跟踪与数据中继能力,建设天基靶场,加强安全防护,以及设备高度综合化、数字化、软件化和低成本等;结合我国测控通信技术发展遇到的技术“瓶颈”与挑战,探讨了当前我国测控通信发展面临的主要任务：制定顶层规划,继续提升技术水平,满足新平台新任务测控需求,探索新概念与前沿技术等;最后,提出了我国测控通信重点发展方向及其关键技术的建议.     

Covariance control for multisensor systems

As the profusion of different sensors improves the capabilities of tracking platforms, tracking objectives can move from simply trying to achieve the most with a limited sensor suite to developing the ability to achieve more specific tracking goals, such as reducing the uncertainty in a target estimate enough to accurately fire a weapon at a target or to ensure that a mobile robot does not collide with an obstacle. Multisensor manager systems that balance tracking performance with system resources have traditionally been ill-suited for achieving such specific control objectives. This work extends the methods developed in single-sensor management schemes to a multisensor application using an approach known as covariance control, which selects sensor combinations based on the difference between the desired covariance matrix and that of the predicted covariance of each target.     

Emission management for low probability intercept sensors in network centric warfare

Sensor platforms with active sensing equipment such as radars may betray their existence, by emitting energy that can be intercepted by enemy surveillance sensors thereby increasing the vulnerability of the whole combat system. To achieve the important tactical requirement of low probability of intercept (LPI) requires dynamically controlling the emission of platforms. In this paper we propose computationally efficient dynamic emission control and management algorithms for multiple networked heterogenous platforms. By formulating the problem as a partially observed Markov decision process (POMDP) with an on-going multi-armed bandit structure, near optimal sensor management algorithms are developed for controlling the active sensor emission to minimize the threat posed to all the platforms. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate these control/management algorithms.     

Tactical cockpits-the coming revolution

A cockpit revolution is in the making. Many of the much ballyhooed, much promised, but little delivered technologies of the 70's and 80's will finally come of age in the 90's just in time to complement the data explosion coming from sensor and processing advances. Technologies such as helmet systems, large flat panel displays, speech recognition, color graphics, decision aiding and stereopsis, are simultaneously reaching technology maturities that promise big payoffs for the third generation cockpit and beyond. The first generation cockpit used round dials to help the pilot keep the airplane flying right side up. The second generation cockpits used multifunction displays and the HUD to interface the pilot with sensors and weapons. What might the third generation cockpit look like? How might it integrate many of these technologies to simplify the pilot's life and most of all: what is the payoff? This paper examines tactical cockpit problems, the technologies needed to solve them and recommend three generations of solutions     

An advanced flight control and navigation system implementation fortactical helicopters

US Army helicopters that will allow single-crewmember operability in tactical environments require a high degree of automation. A tightly integrated flight control and navigation system has been studied. An architecture is discussed which meets anticipated flight control and navigation requirements, at an acceptable weight, using techniques of functional and physical integration. The architecture maximizes the sharing of sensor and computational resources in a flight critical environment and uses modular equipment packaging, dual fault-tolerant tetrad ring-laser-gyro inertial measurement units, and triplex self-checking processor pair-based flight critical processing channels     

Digital Electronics Where We are and Where We are Going

The paper synopsizes the current situation with regard to the nature of the red as well as the blue-grey forces as their capabilities impact future avionics systems. The paper describes today's climate as it relates to the avionics posture of the current and future fighter air forces, congressional desires and budgetary direction. The paper describes the current US Air Force response in the terms of modular systems. The benefits of modular avionics systems are delineated and the impact of software on this new hardware approach are explained. The way to the future is postulated in terms of the threat versus force posturing and the impact on both today's and future weapons systems. The paper concludes with several recommendations which, while they will somewhat alter traditional industrial relationships, will also address the future avionics needs of the US Armed Force.     

Embedded information system re-engineering

Currently fielded embedded information systems face readiness challenges imposed by evolving missions and extended service lifespans. The ability to overcome these challenges is constrained by such factors as shrinking budgets, limited computational capacity and diminished manufacturing sources effects that impact both hardware and software options. Wholesale redevelopment is often cost prohibitive, particularly since large portions of embedded applications continue to fulfil mission requirements. Solutions must preserve prior investments while providing efficient pathways for continued technology refresh. A technology solution for affordable modernization of legacy system software is being development. The Embedded Information System Re-engineering (EISR) project is developing an automation-assisted JOVIAL-to-C re-engineering capability that permits simultaneous modernization of both the structure and source language of legacy embedded applications. Engineers will be able to apply the proven labor-saving visualization and analysis features of modern CASE tools to legacy JOVIAL applications. EISR will thus allow the DoD to recapture previous investments in proven legacy algorithms and mission capabilities while permitting the full exploitation of COTS economies of scale. This paper describes in brief the goals and objectives of the EISR project, and provides the current status of the EISR capability.