A systems approach to Vertical Take-off Unmanned Aerial Vehicle design for interoperability

The capabilities of ‘Unmanned Systems’ (USs) are presently at various stages of technological development and in-service trials. The induction of USs in future ‘Network-Centric Warfare’ (NCW) requires interoperability, the ability of multiple systems to exchange information, to be addressed for enhanced mission effectiveness. To provide effective in-service induction with low life-cycle costs of operation and support, interoperability is to be addressed in the conceptual design process. The focus of this research is on the conceptual design of ‘Vertical Take-off Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ (VTUAVs). The traditional helicopter design methodology was re-visited to encompass interoperability design requirements in the conceptual phase. The research covers the following: (a) Holistic investigation of interoperability issues governing VTUAV operations; (b) System hierarchy development for identification of the mission payload and vehicle components of an interoperable VTUAV; (c) Interoperable architecture development from a ‘Network Centric Operations’ (NCO) perspective; and (d) Verification of the interoperable VTUAV design methodology through a conceptual design exercise – case study on Counter- ‘Improvised Explosive Devices’ (IEDs) operations by VTUAV and UGV. The research updated the interoperable VTUAV design methodology and provided the following key contributions: (a) Identification of pre-emptive and situational mission requirements to maximise mission effectiveness for a stipulated operational need and environment; (b) Mission systems hierarchy and structure for identification of an enhanced mission payload through synergistic integration of on-board and off-board systems; (c) Interoperability architecture that complies with NATO interoperability standards; and (d) Vehicle system hierarchy and structure for design of vehicle components to meet design constraints and the stipulated mission requirements for optimising interoperability. The methodology developed for interoperable VTUAV design provides the avenue to achieve an optimal interoperable conceptual design – critical for integration of systems for NCW and total system effectiveness

Autonomous aircraft initiative study

The results of a consulting effort to aid NASA Ames-Dryden in defining a new initiative in aircraft automation are described. The initiative described is a multi-year, multi-center technology development and flight demonstration program. The initiative features the further development of technologies in aircraft automation already being pursued at multiple NASA centers and Department of Defense (DoD) research and Development (R and D) facilities. The proposed initiative involves the development of technologies in intelligent systems, guidance, control, software development, airborne computing, navigation, communications, sensors, unmanned vehicles, and air traffic control. It involves the integration and implementation of these technologies to the extent necessary to conduct selected and incremental flight demonstrations

COTS DRONE DESIGN: A RAPID EQUIPAGE ALTERNATIVE FOR FORCE RECON COMPANIES

The Force Reconnaissance Group (FRG) of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC) is a pioneer unit of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) in acquiring and utilizing small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) for aerial intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). The sustainment of this ISR equipment, however, largely depends on ample resources that the FRG does not have. This organizational challenge results in an aerial ISR capability gap at the company level. Force Recon Companies (FRCs) do not have organic drones to support their aerial real-time reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition requirements. This study explored an alternative solution to address this capability gap: a low-cost commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) drone design specific to the operational needs of FRCs. A systems engineering approach to SUAS design resulted in a micro traditional helicopter drone as the FRC COTS Drone design. The study produced a prototype FRC COTS Drone consisting of a four-part reconnaissance kit that includes a micro helicopter UAV, handheld controller, first person view (FPV) goggles, and FPV monitor. This effort can promote a culture of innovation in small unmanned systems, not just within the PMC, but the AFP as a whole. This study can also serve as a model for security cooperation between the United States and the Philippines through the integration of three fields: Philippine experience, U.S. technical expertise and resources, and the global commercial market.Outstanding ThesisMajor, Philippine Marine CorpsApproved for public release. distribution is unlimite

Aerial Vehicles

This book contains 35 chapters written by experts in developing techniques for making aerial vehicles more intelligent, more reliable, more flexible in use, and safer in operation.It will also serve as an inspiration for further improvement of the design and application of aeral vehicles. The advanced techniques and research described here may also be applicable to other high-tech areas such as robotics, avionics, vetronics, and space

Autonomous Drone Landings on an Unmanned Marine Vehicle using Deep Reinforcement Learning

This thesis describes with the integration of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV, also commonly known as drone) in a single Multi-Agent System (MAS). In marine robotics, the advantage offered by a MAS consists of exploiting the key features of a single robot to compensate for the shortcomings in the other. In this way, a USV can serve as the landing platform to alleviate the need for a UAV to be airborne for long periods time, whilst the latter can increase the overall environmental awareness thanks to the possibility to cover large portions of the prevailing environment with a camera (or more than one) mounted on it. There are numerous potential applications in which this system can be used, such as deployment in search and rescue missions, water and coastal monitoring, and reconnaissance and force protection, to name but a few. The theory developed is of a general nature. The landing manoeuvre has been accomplished mainly identifying, through artificial vision techniques, a fiducial marker placed on a flat surface serving as a landing platform. The raison d'etre for the thesis was to propose a new solution for autonomous landing that relies solely on onboard sensors and with minimum or no communications between the vehicles. To this end, initial work solved the problem while using only data from the cameras mounted on the in-flight drone. In the situation in which the tracking of the marker is interrupted, the current position of the USV is estimated and integrated into the control commands. The limitations of classic control theory used in this approached suggested the need for a new solution that empowered the flexibility of intelligent methods, such as fuzzy logic or artificial neural networks. The recent achievements obtained by deep reinforcement learning (DRL) techniques in end-to-end control in playing the Atari video-games suite represented a fascinating while challenging new way to see and address the landing problem. Therefore, novel architectures were designed for approximating the action-value function of a Q-learning algorithm and used to map raw input observation to high-level navigation actions. In this way, the UAV learnt how to land from high latitude without any human supervision, using only low-resolution grey-scale images and with a level of accuracy and robustness. Both the approaches have been implemented on a simulated test-bed based on Gazebo simulator and the model of the Parrot AR-Drone. The solution based on DRL was further verified experimentally using the Parrot Bebop 2 in a series of trials. The outcomes demonstrate that both these innovative methods are both feasible and practicable, not only in an outdoor marine scenario but also in indoor ones as well

The Russian National Security Strategy : shaping perceptions and coordinating actions

Dr. Katri Pynnöniemi’s review of Russian strategy documents in The Russian National Security Strategy: shaping perceptions and coordinating actions is revealing. Russian national strategy is consistent across multiple organs of the Russian government and focused on several main themes. Dr. Pynnöniemi rarely mentions Putin, but his hand is evident in the presence of the same themes that he has stressed publically for years. The strategy documents show Russia competing globally for “power and prestige” and locally for national sovereignty. Russia is painted as on the defensive against the West, which continues its Cold War policy of containment and is the instigator of all instability areas of Russian influence. These documents largely apply both internationally and domestically, as maintaining stability is a key theme. This justifies Russian actions as self-defense against Western instigated aggression. The documents stress the multi-domain aspects of competition with the West, reaffirming the US Army’s emphasis on Multi-Domain Operations. Overall, the insights into Russian strategic thinking in relation to the West provides a view to how Russia will pursue its interests and therefore what the Army may face within the Russian sphere of influence and why

SURVEILLANCE MISSION PLANNING FOR UAVS IN GPS-DENIED URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Wide-Area Surveillance System using a UAV Helicopter Interceptor and Sensor Placement Planning Techniques

This project proposes and describes the implementation of a wide-area surveillance system comprised of a sensor/interceptor placement planning and an interceptor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helicopter. Given the 2-D layout of an area, the planning system optimally places perimeter cameras based on maximum coverage and minimal cost. Part of this planning system includes the MATLAB implementation of Erdem and Sclaroff’s Radial Sweep algorithm for visibility polygon generation. Additionally, 2-D camera modeling is proposed for both fixed and PTZ cases. Finally, the interceptor is also placed to minimize shortest-path flight time to any point on the perimeter during a detection event. Secondly, a basic flight control system for the UAV helicopter is designed and implemented. The flight control system’s primary goal is to hover the helicopter in place when a human operator holds an automatic-flight switch. This system represents the first step in a complete waypoint-navigation flight control system. The flight control system is based on an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller. This system is implemented using a general-purpose personal computer (GPPC) running Windows XP and other commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. This setup differs from other helicopter control systems which typically use custom embedded solutions or micro-controllers. Experiments demonstrate the sensor placement planning achieving \u3e90% coverage at optimized-cost for several typical areas given multiple camera types and parameters. Furthermore, the helicopter flight control system experiments achieve hovering success over short flight periods. However, the final conclusion is that the COTS IMU is insufficient for high-speed, high-frequency applications such as a helicopter control system

MH-60 Seahawk / MQ-8 Fire Scout interoperability

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimitedAs part of a Naval Postgraduate School's capstone project in Systems Engineering, a project team from Cohort 311-0911 performed a Systems Engineering analysis. This Project focused on defining alternatives for enhanced Anti-Surface Warfare (ASUW) mission effectiveness through increased interoperability and integration for the Fire Scout Unmanned Air Vehicle and Seahawk helicopter. Specifically, the Project explored the available trade space for enhancing communications back to the ship for analysis and decision-making. Modeling and Simulation (MandS) was used to assess the impact of enhanced communication on specific Key performance Parameters (KPPs) and Measures of Effectiveness (MOEs) associated with the ASUW mission. Once the trade space was defined, alternatives were analyzed and a recommendation provided that supports near-, mid-, and long-term mission enhancement

Next generation mine countermeasures for the very shallow water zone in support of amphibious operations

This report describes system engineering efforts exploring next generation mine countermeasure (MCM) systems to satisfy high priority capability gaps in the Very Shallow Water (VSW) zone in support of amphibious operations. A thorough exploration of the problem space was conducted, including stakeholder analysis, MCM threat analysis, and current and future MCM capability research. Solution-neutral requirements and functions were developed for a bounded next generation system. Several alternative architecture solutions were developed that included a critical evaluation that compared performance and cost. The resulting MCM system effectively removes the man from the minefield through employment of autonomous capability, reduces operator burden with sensor data fusion and processing, and provides a real-time communication for command and control (C2) support to reduce or eliminate post mission analysis.http://archive.org/details/nextgenerationmi109456968N