A Vision-Based Automatic Safe landing-Site Detection System

An automatic safe landing-site detection system is proposed for aircraft emergency landing, based on visible information acquired by aircraft-mounted cameras. Emergency landing is an unplanned event in response to emergency situations. If, as is unfortunately usually the case, there is no airstrip or airfield that can be reached by the un-powered aircraft, a crash landing or ditching has to be carried out. Identifying a safe landing-site is critical to the survival of passengers and crew. Conventionally, the pilot chooses the landing-site visually by looking at the terrain through the cockpit. The success of this vital decision greatly depends on the external environmental factors that can impair human vision, and on the pilot\u27s flight experience that can vary significantly among pilots. Therefore, we propose a robust, reliable and efficient detection system that is expected to alleviate the negative impact of these factors. In this study, we focus on the detection mechanism of the proposed system and assume that the image enhancement for increased visibility and image stitching for a larger field-of-view have already been performed on terrain images acquired by aircraft-mounted cameras. Specifically, we first propose a hierarchical elastic horizon detection algorithm to identify ground in rile image. Then the terrain image is divided into non-overlapping blocks which are clustered according to a roughness measure. Adjacent smooth blocks are merged to form potential landing-sites whose dimensions are measured with principal component analysis and geometric transformations. If the dimensions of a candidate region exceed the minimum requirement for safe landing, the potential landing-site is considered a safe candidate and highlighted on the human machine interface. At the end, the pilot makes the final decision by confirming one of the candidates, also considering other factors such as wind speed and wind direction, etc

Towards Flight Trials for an Autonomous UAV Emergency Landing using Machine Vision

This paper presents the evolution and status of a number of research programs focussed on developing an automated fixed wing UAV landing system. Results obtained in each of the three main areas of research as vision-based site identification, path and trajectory planning and multi-criteria decision making are presented. The results obtained provide a baseline for further refinements and constitute the starting point for the implementation of a prototype system ready for flight testing

Automatic Detection of Aircraft Emergency Landing Sites

An automatic landing site detection algorithm is proposed for aircraft emergency landing. Emergency landing is an unplanned event in response to emergency situations. If, as is unfortunately usually the case, there is no airstrip or airfield that can be reached by the un-powered aircraft, a crash landing or ditching has to be carried out. Identifying a safe landing site is critical to the survival of passengers and crew. Conventionally, the pilot chooses the landing site visually by looking at the terrain through the cockpit. The success of this vital decision greatly depends on the external environmental factors that can impair human vision, and on the pilot\u27s flight experience that can vary significantly among pilots. Therefore, we propose a robust, reliable and efficient algorithm that is expected to alleviate the negative impact of these factors. We present only the detection mechanism of the proposed algorithm and assume that the image enhancement for increased visibility, and image stitching for a larger field-of-view have already been performed on the images acquired by aircraft-mounted cameras. Specifically, we describe an elastic bound detection method which is designed to position the horizon. The terrain image is divided into non-overlapping blocks which are then clustered according to a roughness measure. Adjacent smooth blocks are merged to form potential landing sites whose dimensions are measured with principal component analysis and geometric transformations. If the dimensions of the candidate region exceed the minimum requirement for safe landing, the potential landing site is considered a safe candidate and highlighted on the human machine interface. At the end, the pilot makes the final decision by confirming one of the candidates, also considering other factors such as wind speed and wind direction, etc. Preliminary results show the feasibility of the proposed algorithm

High speed research system study. Advanced flight deck configuration effects

In mid-1991 NASA contracted with industry to study the high-speed civil transport (HSCT) flight deck challenges and assess the benefits, prior to initiating their High Speed Research Program (HSRP) Phase 2 efforts, then scheduled for FY-93. The results of this nine-month effort are presented, and a number of the most significant findings for the specified advanced concepts are highlighted: (1) a no nose-droop configuration; (2) a far forward cockpit location; and (3) advanced crew monitoring and control of complex systems. The results indicate that the no nose-droop configuration is critically dependent upon the design and development of a safe, reliable, and certifiable Synthetic Vision System (SVS). The droop-nose configuration would cause significant weight, performance, and cost penalties. The far forward cockpit location, with the conventional side-by-side seating provides little economic advantage; however, a configuration with a tandem seating arrangement provides a substantial increase in either additional payload (i.e., passengers) or potential downsizing of the vehicle with resulting increases in performance efficiencies and associated reductions in emissions. Without a droop nose, forward external visibility is negated and takeoff/landing guidance and control must rely on the use of the SVS. The technologies enabling such capabilities, which de facto provides for Category 3 all-weather operations on every flight independent of weather, represent a dramatic benefits multiplier in a 2005 global ATM network: both in terms of enhanced economic viability and environmental acceptability

Autonomous flight and remote site landing guidance research for helicopters

Automated low-altitude flight and landing in remote areas within a civilian environment are investigated, where initial cost, ongoing maintenance costs, and system productivity are important considerations. An approach has been taken which has: (1) utilized those technologies developed for military applications which are directly transferable to a civilian mission; (2) exploited and developed technology areas where new methods or concepts are required; and (3) undertaken research with the potential to lead to innovative methods or concepts required to achieve a manual and fully automatic remote area low-altitude and landing capability. The project has resulted in a definition of system operational concept that includes a sensor subsystem, a sensor fusion/feature extraction capability, and a guidance and control law concept. These subsystem concepts have been developed to sufficient depth to enable further exploration within the NASA simulation environment, and to support programs leading to the flight test

Zero/zero rotorcraft certification issues. Volume 1: Executive summary

This report analyzes the Zero/Zero Rotorcraft Certification Issues from the perspectives of manufacturers, operators, researchers and the FAA. The basic premise behind this analysis is the zero/zero, or at least extremely low visibility, rotorcraft operations are feasible today from both a technological and an operational standpoint. The questions and issues that need to be resolved are: What certification requirements do we need to ensure safety. Can we develop procedures which capitalize on the performance and maneuvering capabilities unique to rotorcraft. Will exptremely low visibility operations be economically feasible. This is Volume 1 of three. It provides an overview of the Certification Issues Forum held in Phoenix, Arizona in August of 1987. It presents a consensus of 48 experts from government, manufacturer, and research communities on 50 specific Certification Issues. The topics of Operational Requirements, Procedures, Airworthiness, and Engineering Capabilities are discussed

Aerial-Ground collaborative sensing: Third-Person view for teleoperation

Rapid deployment and operation are key requirements in time critical application, such as Search and Rescue (SaR). Efficiently teleoperated ground robots can support first-responders in such situations. However, first-person view teleoperation is sub-optimal in difficult terrains, while a third-person perspective can drastically increase teleoperation performance. Here, we propose a Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV)-based system that can autonomously provide third-person perspective to ground robots. While our approach is based on local visual servoing, it further leverages the global localization of several ground robots to seamlessly transfer between these ground robots in GPS-denied environments. Therewith one MAV can support multiple ground robots on a demand basis. Furthermore, our system enables different visual detection regimes, and enhanced operability, and return-home functionality. We evaluate our system in real-world SaR scenarios.Comment: Accepted for publication in 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Safety, Security and Rescue Robotics (SSRR