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At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2012

Fully Self-Contained Vision-Aided Navigation and Landing of a Micro Air Vehicle Independent from External Sensor Inputs

Direct-lift micro air vehicles have important applications in reconnaissance. In order to conduct persistent surveillance in urban environments, it is essential that these systems can perform autonomous landing maneuvers on elevated surfaces that provide high vantage points without the help of any external sensor and with a fully contained on-board software solution. In this paper, we present a micro air vehicle that uses vision feedback from a single down looking camera to navigate autonomously and detect an elevated landing platform as a surrogate for a roof top. Our method requires no special preparation (labels or markers) of the landing location. Rather, leveraging the planar character of urban structure, the landing platform detection system uses a planar homography decomposition to detect landing targets and produce approach waypoints for autonomous landing. The vehicle control algorithm uses a Kalman filter based approach for pose estimation to fuse visual SLAM (PTAM) position estimates with IMU data to correct for high latency SLAM inputs and to increase the position estimate update rate in order to improve control stability. Scale recovery is achieved using inputs from a sonar altimeter. In experimental runs, we demonstrate a real-time implementation running on-board a micro aerial vehicle that is fully self-contained and independent from any external sensor information. With this method, the vehicle is able to search autonomously for a landing location and perform precision landing maneuvers on the detected targets.

autonomous landing↗
NASA NTRS2001

Use of the Aerosonde Unihabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in the Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX 4)

The Fourth Convection and Moisture Experiment (CAMEX 4) was a scientific field experiment based in Florida in summer 2001 focused on the study of hurricanes off the east coast of the United States. Sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Office of Earth Science, and conducted in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's annual hurricane research program, CAMEX 4 utilized aircraft, ground-based and satellite instrumentation to obtain unprecedented, three dimensional characterizations of these important storms. The Aerosonde UAV was selected by NASA to participate in CAMEX 4 because it provided a unique capability to obtain measurements in the atmospheric boundary layer in and around the storms, unattainable by other platforms or measurement capabilities. This talk focuses on the NASA review process that was followed to coordinate the UAV activity with the conventional aircraft operations, as well as with the other participating agencies and the FAA. We will discuss how Aerosonde addressed the issues of safety, coordination and communication and summarize the lessons learned.

Hipskind, R. Stephen↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations (STEReO)

STEReO brings together several technologies in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM), Autonomy, Communications, Human Factors, and Domain Expertise & Tools, aimed at providing scalability and flexibility, as well as operational resiliency to dynamic changes during a disaster event. Some of the concepts STEReO explores are: collaborative tools to ingest remote sensing information and distribute a common mission operating picture, apply ad-hoc communication networks to facilitate timely information sharing and communication of changes, vehicle-to-vehicle and onboard autonomy technologies ensure the safety and resiliency of operations, and apply NASA’s UAS traffic management system (UTM) as a public safety UAS Service Supplier (USS) to access and coordinate use of the airspace by both manned and unmanned operations. The potential benefits of STEReO include: standardized, cross-platform communication means increased interoperability and ease of cooperation/collaboration, increased situation awareness and common operating picture allow for earlier detection and decision making, and scalable to size and complexity of environment, operations, and mission objectives. This presentation gives an informational overview of the STEReO project to attendees of the AIAA Aviation conference.

emergency response operations↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SimUAM: A Comprehensive Microsimulation Toolchain to Evaluate the Impact of Urban Air Mobility in Metropolitan Areas

Over the past several years, Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has galvanized enthusiasm from investors and researchers, marrying expertise in aircraft design, transportation, logistics, artificial intelligence, battery chemistry, and broader policymaking. However, two significant questions remain unexplored: (1) What is the value of UAM in a region’s transportation network? and (2) How can UAM be effectively deployed to realize and maximize this value to all stakeholders, including riders and local economies? To adequately understand the value proposition of UAM for metropolitan areas, the authors develop a holistic multi-modal toolchain, SimUAM, to model and simulate UAM and its impacts on travel behavior. This toolchain has several components: (1) Microsimulation Analysis for Network Traffic Assignment (MANTA): A fast, high-fidelity regional-scale traffic microsimulator, (2) VertiSim: Agranular, discrete-event vertiport and pedestrian simulator, (3) Flexible Engine for Fast-time Evaluation of Flight Environments (Fe3): A high-fidelity, trajectory-based aerial microsimulation. SimUAM, rooted in granular, GPU-based microsimulation, models millions of trips and their movements in the street network and in the air, producing interpretable and actionable performance metrics for UAM designs and deployments. Once the ground-air interface is modeled, the authors find that the market for UAM decreases across all network designs relative to models with static assumptions about transfer times. However, significant improvements can be made to balance the demand and optimize the networks for transfer time, likely increasing the number of benefited trips. The modularity, extensibility, and speed of the platform will allow for rapid scenario planning and sensitivity analysis, effectively acting as a detailed performance assessment tool.

urban air mobility↗
NASA NTRS2011

AVIATR - Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance A Titan Airplane Mission Concept

We describe a mission concept for a stand-alone Titan airplane mission: Aerial Vehicle for In-situ and Airborne Titan Reconnaissance (AVIATR). With independent delivery and direct-to-Earth communications, AVIATR could contribute to Titan science either alone or as part of a sustained Titan Exploration Program. As a focused mission, AVIATR as we have envisioned it would concentrate on the science that an airplane can do best: exploration of Titan's global diversity. We focus on surface geology/hydrology and lower-atmospheric structure and dynamics. With a carefully chosen set of seven instruments-2 near-IR cameras, 1 near-IR spectrometer, a RADAR altimeter, an atmospheric structure suite, a haze sensor, and a raindrop detector-AVIATR could accomplish a significant subset of the scientific objectives of the aerial element of flagship studies. The AVIATR spacecraft stack is composed of a Space Vehicle (SV) for cruise, an Entry Vehicle (EV) for entry and descent, and the Air Vehicle (AV) to fly in Titan's atmosphere. Using an Earth-Jupiter gravity assist trajectory delivers the spacecraft to Titan in 7.5 years, after which the AVIATR AV would operate for a 1-Earth-year nominal mission. We propose a novel 'gravity battery' climb-then-glide strategy to store energy for optimal use during telecommunications sessions. We would optimize our science by using the flexibility of the airplane platform, generating context data and stereo pairs by flying and banking the AV instead of using gimbaled cameras. AVIATR would climb up to 14 km altitude and descend down to 3.5 km altitude once per Earth day, allowing for repeated atmospheric structure and wind measurements all over the globe. An initial Team-X run at JPL priced the AVIATR mission at FY10 $715M based on the rules stipulated in the recent Discovery announcement of opportunity. Hence we find that a standalone Titan airplane mission can achieve important science building on Cassini's discoveries and can likely do so within a New Frontiers budget.

UAV↗
NASA NTRS2017

Mesh Network Architecture for Enabling Inter-Spacecraft Communication

To enable communication between spacecraft operating in a formation or small constellation, a mesh network architecture was developed and tested using a time division multiple access (TDMA) communication scheme. The network is designed to allow for the exchange of telemetry and other data between spacecraft to enable collaboration between small spacecraft. The system uses a peer-to-peer topology with no central router, so that it does not have a single point of failure. The mesh network is dynamically configurable to allow for addition and subtraction of new spacecraft into the communication network. Flight testing was performed using an unmanned aerial system (UAS) formation acting as a spacecraft analogue and providing a stressing environment to prove mesh network performance. The mesh network was primarily devised to provide low latency, high frequency communication but is flexible and can also be configured to provide higher bandwidth for applications desiring high data throughput. The network includes a relay functionality that extends the maximum range between spacecraft in the network by relaying data from node to node. The mesh network control is implemented completely in software making it hardware agnostic, thereby allowing it to function with a wide variety of existing radios and computing platforms..

Becker, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2015

Remote Sensing

Remote sensing is one of a suite of geospatial technologies that are having a growing impact in a wide variety of areas from commerce to science to public policy. The field of remote sensing evolved from the interpretation of aerial photographs to the analysis of satellite imagery, and from local area studies to global analyses, with advances in sensor system technologies and digital computing. Today remote sensor systems can provide data from energy emitted, reflected, and/or transmitted from all parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. Examples of applications of these data include population and demography studies, study of archaeological sites, energy studies using hydrological models, urban planning, environmental monitoring, environments, treaty enforcement, land use/land cover planning, weather forecasting, and agricultural production estimation, just to name a few. The material that follows provides a brief overview of the historical development of remote sensing, emphasizing the increasing complexity of platforms, systems, and tasks.

electromagnetic spectrum↗
NASA NTRS2017

Flight Dynamics of Mars Helicopter

Starting with the first attempted flybys of Mars in the 1960s, human exploration of the Red Planet has evolved through ever-more sophisticated means, with the use of orbiters, stationary landers, and more recently rovers that have traveled over distances of tens of kilometers in search of new knowledge. Yet, despite discussion since the early days of space exploration, no mission has so far attempted to unlock the aerial dimension of Mars exploration through the use of atmospheric flyers. This could be about to change, as NASA is currently considering sending a small helicopter to the Martian surface as part of a future mission, as a technology demonstration to verify the feasibility and utility of using helicopters for future Mars exploration. The use of helicopters promises to bridge a resolution gap in current Mars exploration capabilities—betweeen orbiters providing large-area imagery at low resolution, and rovers that provide detailed imagery limited by line-of-sight from the current rover location. Paired with a rover, a helicopter can act as a forward reconnaisance platform, helping to identify promising science targets or mapping the terrain ahead of the rover. Looking further ahead, helicopters may one day carry their own science payloads to areas that are inaccessible to rovers.

San Martin, Miguel↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Monocular Ranging for Small Unmanned Aerial Systems in the Far-Field

Recent proliferation of small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) applications requires onboard collision avoidance systems to mitigate the risk of collision with non-cooperative aircraft and manned aircraft, which may not see sUAS in time to perform an avoidance maneuver. An attractive avenue for onboard collision avoidance is the utilization of machine vision cameras due to their low size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements. In this paper, we characterize the range performance of a machine vision system developed in-house and mounted onto an sUAS. The technique was designed to estimate the performance of a sense-and-avoid system to ensure that the sensing components meet the well-clear requirements for the chosen platform and avoidance strategy. Experimental flight-test data was acquired from test-flights flown along multiple collision geometries for two intruders: a general Aviation (GA) aircraft and a fixed-wing sUAS. The ownship and both intruders were instrumented with inertial navigation systems (INS) recording position and attitude information. The range at first detection, 𝑹𝟎, was extracted from in-flight imagery of head-on collision course geometry synchronized with INS data from both aircraft and ground-truth values extracted from the raw imagery. This initial detection distance, 𝑹𝟎, scales with atmospheric attenuation. Therefore, under clear sky conditions, the derived 𝑹𝟎 value represents the upper bound on the detection range achievable by the test configuration of the detector. Results indicate that the maximum initial detection distance for a 4k resolution action camera fitted with a 41º Field of View (FOV) lens is 2.763 ± 0.037 km for a GA aircraft and 0.881 ± 0.061 km for a fixed-wing sUAS, respectively. The in results this study suggest that a vision-based detect and track system may be analyzed using the sensor characterization and contextualized within aircraft well-clear volumes.

Chester V. Dolph↗
NASA NTRS1991

GPS interferometric attitude and heading determination - Flight test results

Methods and results for realtime pitch, roll, and heading determination of a dynamic flexible platform are presented. Consideration is given to a GPS attitude and heading determination system installed in Ohio University's Douglas DC-3 research aircraft. Signals from four antennas are processed by an Ashtech 3DF 24-channel GPS receiver. Data from the receiver are sent to a microcomputer for storage and further computations. Attitude and heading data are sent to a second computer for display on a software generated artificial horizon. Demonstration of this technique proves its candidacy for augmentation of aircraft state estimation for flight control and navigation as well as for numerous other applications, such as reliable aircraft state estimation, measurement of structural flexing of large space structures, synthetic aperture radar, aerial photogrammetry, pointing systems, spacecraft attitude control, rendezvous and docking, and road mapping.

Van Graas, Frank↗
NASA NTRS2018

System Autonomy for Space Traffic Management

This paper proposes an initial architecture for a Space Traffic Management (STM) system, based on openApplication Programming Interfaces (APIs) and drawing on previous work by the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) to develop an architecture for low-altitude Unmanned Aerial System Traffic Management (UTM). The authors explore how autonomy could be used to enhance an STM system, and how constraints inherent in STM complicate and challenge certain applications of autonomy. We conceptually explore how autonomy could be used within an STM architecture, with multiple non-authoritative catalogs of resident space objects, and to determine which oftwo conjuncting spacecraft moves. NASA ARC is developing a software research environment for STM, along with a physical laboratory and visualization space. We invite STM stakeholders to collaborate in our infrastructure, to help inform the design of the proposed STM architecture, and to participate in the refinement and validation of its concept of operations using the software research platform.

space situational awareness↗
NASA NTRS2013

Air Launch: Examining Performance Potential of Various Configurations and Growth Options

The Advanced Concepts Office at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center conducted a high-level analysis of various air launch vehicle configurations, objectively determining maximum launch vehicle payload while considering carrier aircraft capabilities and given dimensional constraints. With the renewed interest in aerial launch of low-earth orbit payloads, referenced by programs such as Stratolaunch and Spaceship2, there exists a need to qualify the boundaries of the trade space, identify performance envelopes, and understand advantages and limiting factors of designing for maximum payload capability. Using the NASA/DARPA Horizontal Launch Study (HLS) Point Design 2 (PD-2) as a pointof- departure configuration, two independent design actions were undertaken. Both designs utilized a Boeing 747-400F as the carrier aircraft, LOX/RP-1 first stage and LOX/LH2 second stage. Each design was sized to meet dimensional and mass constraints while optimizing propellant loads and stage delta V splits. All concepts, when fully loaded, exceeded the allowable Gross Takeoff Weight (GTOW) of the aircraft platform. This excess mass was evaluated as propellant/fuel offload available for a potential in-flight propellant loading scenario. Results indicate many advantages such as payload delivery of approximately 47,000 lbm and significant mission flexibility including variable launch site inclination and launch window. However, in-flight cryogenic fluid transfer and carrier aircraft platform integration are substantial technical hurdles to the realization of such a system configuration.

Waters, Eric D.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Air Launch: Examining Performance Potential of Various Configurations and Growth Options

The Advanced Concepts Office at NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center conducted a high-level analysis of various air launch vehicle configurations, objectively determining maximum launch vehicle payload while considering carrier aircraft capabilities and given dimensional constraints. With the renewed interest in aerial launch of low-earth orbit payloads, referenced by programs such as Stratolaunch and Spaceship2, there existed a need to qualify the boundaries of the trade space, identify performance envelopes, and understand advantages and limiting factors of designing for maximum payload capability. Using the NASA/DARPA Horizontal Launch Study (HLS) Point Design 2 (PD-2) as a point-of-departure configuration, two independent design actions were undertaken. Both configurations utilized a Boeing 747-400F as the carrier aircraft, LOX/RP-1 first stage and LOX/LH2 second stage. Each design was sized to meet dimensional and mass constraints while optimizing propellant loads and stage delta V (ΔV) splits. All concepts, when fully loaded, exceeded the allowable Gross Takeoff Weight (GTOW) of the aircraft platform. This excess mass was evaluated as propellant/fuel offload available for a potential in-flight refueling scenario. Results indicate many advantages such as large, relative payload delivery of approximately 47,000 lbm and significant mission flexibility, such as variable launch site inclination and launch window; however, in-flight cryogenic fluid transfer and carrier aircraft platform integration are substantial technical hurdles to the realization of such a system configuration.

Waters, Eric D.↗
NASA NTRS2011

HIWRAP Radar Development for High-Altitude Operation on the NASA Global Hawk and ER-2

The NASA High-Altitude Imaging Wind and Rain Airborne Profiler (HIWRAP) is a solid-state transmitter-based, dual-frequency (Ka- and Ku-band), dual-beam (30 degree and 40 degree incidence angle), conical scan Doppler radar system, designed for operation on the NASA high-altitude (20 km) aircrafts, such as the Global Hawk Unmanned Aerial System (UAS). Supported by the NASA Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), HIWRAP was developed to provide high spatial and temporal resolution 3D wind and reflectivity data for the research of tropical cyclone and severe storms. With the simultaneous measurements at both Ku- and Ka-band two different incidence angles, HIWRAP is capable of imaging Doppler winds and volume backscattering from clouds and precipitation associated with tropical storms. In addition, HIWRAP is able to obtain ocean surface backscatter measurements for surface wind retrieval using an approach similar to QuikScat. There are three key technology advances for HIWRAP. Firstly, a compact dual-frequency, dual-beam conical scan antenna system was designed to fit the tight size and weight constraints of the aircraft platform. Secondly, The use of solid state transmitters along with a novel transmit waveform and pulse compression scheme has resulted in a system with improved performance to size, weight, and power ratios compared to typical tube based Doppler radars currently in use for clouds and precipitation measurements. Tube based radars require high voltage power supply and pressurization of the transmitter and radar front end that complicates system design and implementation. Solid state technology also significantly improves system reliability. Finally, HIWRAP technology advances also include the development of a high-speed digital receiver and processor to handle the complex receiving pulse sequences and high data rates resulting from multi receiver channels and conical scanning. This paper describes HIWRAP technology development for dual-frequency operation at high-altitudes using low peak power transmitters and pulse compression. The hardware will be described along with the methods and concepts for the system design. Finally, we will present recent preliminary results from flights on the NASA Global Hawk in support of the NASA Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) field campaign, and on the NASA ER-2 as fixed nadir pointing mode for the NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) ground validation (GV) mission - Midlatitude Continental Convective Cloud Experiment (MC3E)

Li, Lihua↗
NASA NTRS2021

Bistatic Radar Experiments with UAV: Qualification and Performance of a Miniaturized Instrument

Spacecraft-to-ground bistatic radar is an established technique that has enabled the study of the planetary surfaces and near sub-surfaces properties by using the telecommunication signals amplitude, phase, and polarization. The Planetary Radar and Radio Science group at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has been involved in many planetary bistatic radar experiments since the 1970’s using orbiters and Deep Space Network (DSN) antennas. The recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) technologies are making the UAVs more popular in scientific surveying applications. One such application is the use of UAVs in bistatic radar measurements to explore surfaces on Earth. Our analyses show that UAV-based bistatic radar measurements will improve our understanding of the finer-scale characteristic variations of the surface by acquiring the higher resolution data for a specific region of interest compared to data obtained from a spacecraft. The Mars helicopter, a technology demonstration to test the first powered flight on Mars, will be the beginning of a new era of exploration with UAVs on Mars. This leap in planetary UAV technology has renewed the importance of developing a miniaturized bistatic radar instrument (under 1 kg) compatible with a UAV platform able to meet the science requirements for studying surfaces on Earth, Mars, and other planetary bodies. As part of a task at JPL, we have been working on a technology demonstration using a compact bistatic radar instrument designed to be the payload of a UAV employing signals of opportunity from Earth’s orbiters, i.e. Global Positioning System (GPS). In this paper, we present our design and development of the instrument, our evaluation of different L-band antennas, the performance of compact open-loop receivers in support of Earth and planetary bistatic radar observations, and the instrument fit test on an UAV platform. As part of this publication, we also highlight the results of a field experiment dedicated to test the sensitivity of the miniaturized bistatic radar instrument to different electrical properties of the surface.

Brockers, Roland↗
NASA NTRS1995

A Mars Rover Mission Simulation on Kilauea Volcano

A field experiment to simulate a rover mission on Mars was performed using the Russian Marsokhod rover deployed on Kilauea Volcano HI in February, 1995. A Russian Marsokhod rover chassis was equipped with American avionics equipment, stereo cameras on a pan and tilt platform, a digital high resolution body-mounted camera, and a manipulator arm on which was mounted a camera with a close-up lens. The six wheeled rover is 2 meters long and has a mass of 120 kg. The imaging system was designed to simulate that used on the planned "Mars Together" mission. The rover was deployed on Kilauea Volcano HI and operated from NASA Ames by a team of planetary geologists and exobiologists. Two modes of mission operations were simulated for three days each: (1) long time delay, low data bandwidth (simulating a Mars mission), and (2) live video, wide-bandwidth data (allowing active control simulating a Lunar rover mission or a Mars rover mission controlled from on or near the Martian surface). Simulated descent images (aerial photographs) were used to plan traverses to address a detailed set of science questions. The actual route taken was determined by the science team and the traverse path was frequently changed in response to the data acquired and to unforeseen operational issues. Traverses were thereby optimized to efficiently answer scientific questions. During the Mars simulation, the rover traversed a distance of 800 m. Based on the time delay between Earth and Mars, we estimate that the same operation would have taken 30 days to perform on Mars. This paper will describe the mission simulation and make recommendations about incorporating rovers into the Mars surveyor program.

Stoker, Carol↗
NASA NTRS2018

CLAS-ACT: Conformal, Lightweight Antennas for Aeronautical Communications Technology

The growing demand for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and operating them beyond the line of sight (BLOS) has resulted in an increased interest in using existing satellite communication capabilities for command, control, and telemetry (CC&T). As the user base in this allocated portion of the spectrum expands, there is an increased potential for interference with existing terrestrial fixed-point communication systems. As secondary users, UAVs must seek out new solutions to avoid interfering with these existing ground sites while maintaining good links with satellite constellations. In this presentation, a novel lightweight conformal phased array antenna currently under development is presented that can use null steering and/or beam shaping to avoid ground interference while simultaneously providing strong satellite microwave links for communications. The reduced weight of this design and ability to integrate into the fuselage of smaller UAV platforms will also be discussed as a potential solution to provide BLOS operation via spectrum sharing for an expanding user base.

Meador, Mary Ann↗
NASA NTRS2005

GPS Remote Sensing Measurements Using Aerosonde UAV

In February 2004, a NASA-Langley GPS Remote Sensor (GPSRS) unit was flown on an Aerosonde unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from the Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia. Using direct and surface-reflected 1.575 GHz coarse acquisition (C/A) coded GPS signals, remote sensing measurements were obtained over land and portions of open water. The strength of the surface-reflected GPS signal is proportional to the amount of moisture in the surface, and is also influenced by surface roughness. Amplitude and other characteristics of the reflected signal allow an estimate of wind speed over open water. In this paper we provide a synopsis of the instrument accommodation requirements, installation procedures, and preliminary results from what is likely the first-ever flight of a GPS remote sensing instrument on a UAV. The correct operation of the GPSRS unit on this flight indicates that Aerosonde-like UAV's can serve as platforms for future GPS remote sensing science missions.

Grant, Michael S.↗