Outdoor operations of multiple quadrotors in windy environment

Coordinated multiple small unmanned aerial vehicles (sUAVs) offer several advantages over a single sUAV platform. These advantages include improved task efficiency, reduced task completion time, improved fault tolerance, and higher task flexibility. However, their deployment in an outdoor environment is challenging due to the presence of wind gusts. The coordinated motion of a multi-sUAV system in the presence of wind disturbances is a challenging problem when considering collision avoidance (safety), scalability, and communication connectivity. Performing wind-agnostic motion planning for sUAVs may produce a sizeable cross-track error if the wind on the planned route leads to actuator saturation. In a multi-sUAV system, each sUAV has to locally counter the wind disturbance while maintaining the safety of the system. Such continuous manipulation of the control effort for multiple sUAVs under uncertain environmental conditions is computationally taxing and can lead to reduced efficiency and safety concerns. Additionally, modern day sUAV systems are susceptible to cyberattacks due to their use of commercial wireless communication infrastructure. This dissertation aims to address these multi-faceted challenges related to the operation of outdoor rotor-based multi-sUAV systems. A comprehensive review of four representative techniques to measure and estimate wind speed and direction using rotor-based sUAVs is discussed. After developing a clear understanding of the role wind gusts play in quadrotor motion, two decentralized motion planners for a multi-quadrotor system are implemented and experimentally evaluated in the presence of wind disturbances. The first planner is rooted in the reinforcement learning (RL) technique of state-action-reward-state-action (SARSA) to provide generalized path plans in the presence of wind disturbances. While this planner provides feasible trajectories for the quadrotors, it does not provide guarantees of collision avoidance. The second planner implements a receding horizon (RH) mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) model that is integrated with control barrier functions (CBFs) to guarantee collision-free transit of the multiple quadrotors in the presence of wind disturbances. Finally, a novel communication protocol using Ethereum blockchain-based smart contracts is presented to address the challenge of secure wireless communication. The U.S. sUAV market is expected to be worth $92 Billion by 2030. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) noted in its seminal economic report that UAVs would be responsible for creating 100,000 jobs by 2025 in the U.S. The rapid proliferation of drone technology in various applications has led to an increasing need for professionals skilled in sUAV piloting, designing, fabricating, repairing, and programming. Engineering educators have recognized this demand for certified sUAV professionals. This dissertation aims to address this growing sUAV-market need by evaluating two active learning-based instructional approaches designed for undergraduate sUAV education. The two approaches leverages the interactive-constructive-active-passive (ICAP) framework of engagement and explores the use of Competition based Learning (CBL) and Project based Learning (PBL). The CBL approach is implemented through a drone building and piloting competition that featured 97 students from undergraduate and graduate programs at NJIT. The competition focused on 1) drone assembly, testing, and validation using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, 2) simulation of drone flight missions, and 3) manual and semi-autonomous drone piloting were implemented. The effective student learning experience from this competition served as the basis of a new undergraduate course on drone science fundamentals at NJIT. This undergraduate course focused on the three foundational pillars of drone careers: 1) drone programming using Python, 2) designing and fabricating drones using Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and rapid prototyping, and 3) the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 107 Commercial small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs) pilot test. Multiple assessment methods are applied to examine the students’ gains in sUAV skills and knowledge and student attitudes towards an active learning-based approach for sUAV education. The use of active learning techniques to address these challenges lead to meaningful student engagement and positive gains in the learning outcomes as indicated by quantitative and qualitative assessments

UAS Pilots Code – Annotated Version 1.0

The UAS PILOTS CODE (UASPC) offers recommendations to advance flight safety, ground safety, airmanship, and professionalism.6 It presents a vision of excellence for UAS pilots and operators, and includes general guidance for all types of UAS. The UASPC offers broad guidance—a set of values—to help a pilot interpret and apply standards and regulations, and to confront real world challenges to avoid incidents and accidents. It is designed to help UAS pilots develop standard operating procedures (SOPs), effective risk management,7 safety management systems (SMS), and to encourage UAS pilots to consider themselves aviators and participants in the broader aviation community

Aeronautical engineering, a continuing bibliography with indexes

This bibliography lists 567 reports, articles and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in January 1984

Preliminary study and design of the avionics system for an eVTOL aircraft.

The project consists of the study, creation, implementation, and development of the avionics system of an electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) airplane for an ongoing project from the company ONAEROSPACE. The plane is intended to be for 7 passengers and 1 pilot, with a maximum range of 1000+ km. The fuselage will be formed of carbon fiber composite to reduce weight and it will use electric motors powered by batteries. The avionics system will provide the aircraft with communication and navigation systems, an autonomous Take-Off (T/O) and landing system, as well as the development of cockpit management systems. This document is divided into two parts. The first part begins with the study of all the necessary tools for communication and navigation systems. That means all compulsory antennas and sensors to obtain information about the surroundings (weather, obstacles, other planes¿). The intern communication network to send data from these sensors and antennas to main flight management systems is also studied in this first part. The second part of the project is dedicated to cabin cockpit systems and the study for the future development of autonomous systems. The cabin will have a full-glass cockpit, with touchable screens and an intelligent voice assistant. It will be very ergonomic and simple, with a lot of space in the cabin. In order to have an idea of the cost of the implementation of all the systems for the aircraft, a weight and cost estimation analysis are done at the end of each section. The last part of the project consists of the study of the design of a virtual intelligent voice assistant and the implementation of autonomous systems. Nowadays, the virtual intelligent voice assistant is an artificial intelligence system that works as a pilot monitoring system which assists the pilot in order to decrease the pilot¿s workload. The future idea is that the pilot could tell commands to the voice assistant and do nothing with the hands, just control that everything works correctly. Regarding the autonomous system, the conclusion is that with the existent technology is not possible today. Nevertheless, in the future, when fully autonomous aircraft are possible, the idea is that although being fully autonomous, the pilot can take the control of the aircraft at any moment.OutgoingObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::9 - Indústria, Innovació i InfraestructuraObjectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::11 - Ciutats i Comunitats Sostenible