SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “UAs”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 613 records · Page 34

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Comparative Analysis of Airspace System Accessibility for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems for Regional Operations

As part of newly developing aviation markets, fixed-wing Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) are projected to impact airspace systems and conventional air traffic in the future. The initial introduction of fixed-wing cargo UAS for regional operations is anticipated to occur at smaller under-utilized airports. Therefore, this paper assesses the integration potential of regional fixed-wing cargo UAS into the airspace system. A baseline is established to identify potential airports for UAS operations in different areas. Additionally, using 2022 data, regional aircraft eligible for future cargo UAS operations are investigated. Finally, the accessibility of these regional aircraft at the identified airports was analyzed. Based on the availability of current certified landing systems needed for initial UAS operations, the potential airports for UAS operations are compared in the areas of Germany, Texas, and California. Despite 173 identified airports for potential UAS operations in Germany, 376 in Texas, and 227 in California, only eleven of these airports provide current certified landing systems needed for initial UAS operations. However, other landing system technologies that are currently under development, such as vision-based landing systems, might support UAS accessibility at the identified airports for potential UAS operations in the future.

Uncrewed aircraft systems↗

NASA NTRS2019

Effectiveness of Redundant Communications Systems in Maintaining Operational Control of Small Unmanned Aircraft

NASA has been researching prototype technologies for an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system to facilitate enabling of safe and efficient civilian low-altitude airspace and UAS operations, in a series of Technical Capability Levels (TCL) activities that are increasingly complex. In TCL1, completed in 2015, visual line-of-sight operations such as agriculture, firefighting and infrastructure monitoring were addressed with a focus on geofencing and operations scheduling. Technologies and requirements needed for beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations in sparsely populated areas were examined in TCL2 in 2016, and those for operations over moderately populated areas in TCL3 in 2017 and 2018. TCL4 will build on the earlier TCLs and focus on technologies and requirements for operations in higher-density urban areas for tasks such as news gathering, package delivery and for managing large-scale contingencies. This paper describes a communications test conducted in TCL3 and discusses insights gained from the test. In the test, operators were directed to equip UAS with redundant Command and Control (C2) communications systems, send a maneuver command to Unmanned Aircraft (UA) via the primary system, then verify execution of the sent command. This exercise was repeated with each redundant system. The test was designed to assess effectiveness of redundant C2 systems in maintaining operational control of UA. Several UAS were configured with varying arrangements to achieve redundancy, including two identical radio modems using the same frequency band, WiFi and Long-Term Evolution (LTE) cellular modems, etc. From the test, digital data such as time maneuver command sent, time maneuver verified, etc., were collected. Descriptions of methods to detect loss of C2 communications and contingency steps for such event were collected and assessed. The final paper will include a detailed analysis of the collected data leading to the following insights. First, effectiveness of redundant C2 systems depends on several factors, such as operational environment and communications service availability. For example, use of two identical point-to-point radio to connect operator and UA on the same frequency band can be effective in mitigating radio malfunction when operating in an environment where possibility of Radio Frequency (RF) interference is low, such as over open plains. However, the same arrangement may not be effective where high level of RF transmissions in broad spectrum ranges can be expected, such as over or near urban areas. For redundant systems that consist of external communications services, such as cellular and satellite communications network, redundancy is maintained only in the areas where more than one services are available. Therefore, UAS operators should have the means to plan for and monitor the performance of external communications services they are relying on to control UA. Second, communications performance needs, such as the minimum data transfer rate and the maximum tolerable latency, should be assessed to reflect the potential hazard that can come from loss of UA control. For example, UA operations over desolate area pose less hazard to people than operations over densely populated area and performance need for the former would be less than the latter.

Jung, Jaewoo↗

NASA NTRS2015

Integrated Test and Evaluation Flight Test 3 Flight Test Plan

The desire and ability to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) is of increasing urgency. The application of unmanned aircraft to perform national security, defense, scientific, and emergency management are driving the critical need for less restrictive access by UAS to the NAS. UAS represent a new capability that will provide a variety of services in the government (public) and commercial (civil) aviation sectors. The growth of this potential industry has not yet been realized due to the lack of a common understanding of what is required to safely operate UAS in the NAS. NASA's UAS Integration into the NAS Project is conducting research in the areas of Separation Assurance/Sense and Avoid Interoperability, Human Systems Integration (HSI), and Communication to support reducing the barriers of UAS access to the NAS. This research is broken into two research themes namely, UAS Integration and Test Infrastructure. UAS Integration focuses on airspace integration procedures and performance standards to enable UAS integration in the air transportation system, covering Sense and Avoid (SAA) performance standards, command and control performance standards, and human systems integration. The focus of Test Infrastructure is to enable development and validation of airspace integration procedures and performance standards, including the integrated test and evaluation. In support of the integrated test and evaluation efforts, the Project will develop an adaptable, scalable, and schedulable relevant test environment capable of evaluating concepts and technologies for unmanned aircraft systems to safely operate in the NAS. To accomplish this task, the Project will conduct a series of Human-in-the-Loop and Flight Test activities that integrate key concepts, technologies and/or procedures in a relevant air traffic environment. Each of the integrated events will build on the technical achievements, fidelity and complexity of the previous tests and technical simulations, resulting in research findings that support the development of regulations governing the access of UAS into the NAS.

Unmanned↗

NASA NTRS2010

Certification

Objective 1: Provide regulators with a methodology for development of airworthiness requirements for certification of UAS. a) Rationale: a comprehensive methodology does not currently exist to support development of regulation for certification of UAS. Regulation is essential to enable routine access to the NAS. b) Approach: 1) assess existing approaches and classification schemes for deriving acceptable means of compliance to airworthiness requirements. 2) investigate a service-based approach to classification of UAS. 3) conduct comparative analysis of different methodologies. 4) work with FAA to determine best approach and conduct case study. 5) participate in regulatory/standards organizations developing safety and performance requirements for UAS. Objective 2: Provide regulators and industry with hazard and risk-related data to support criteria for UAS type design. a) Rationale: There is presently little UAS specific data (incident, accident, and reliability), especially in a civil context, to support risk assessment and development of standards and regulation. b) Approach: Identify gaps in existing data, provide measured data as needed, and formulate recommendations by: 1) evaluating UAS incident/accident data collection efforts and determining additional support necessary for regulation. 2) assessing UAS-specific hazards and risks. 3) evaluating need for reliability data for UAS-unique systems, components and subsystem, and determining additional measurement requirements. 4) developing guidance and best practices for UAS type design.

Hayhurst, Kelly↗

NASA NTRS2010

The NASA Langley Research Center's Unmanned Aerial System Surrogate Research Aircraft

Research is needed to determine what procedures, aircraft sensors and other systems will be required to allow Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to safely operate with manned aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS). The NASA Langley Research Center has transformed a Cirrus Design SR22 general aviation (GA) aircraft into a UAS Surrogate research aircraft to serve as a platform for UAS systems research, development, flight testing and evaluation. The aircraft is manned with a Safety Pilot and systems operator that allows for flight operations almost anywhere in the NAS without the need for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certificate of Authorization (COA). The UAS Surrogate can be controlled from a modular, transportable ground station like a true UAS. The UAS Surrogate is able to file and fly in the NAS with normal traffic and is a better platform for real world UAS research and development than existing vehicles flying in restricted ranges or other sterilized airspace. The Cirrus Design SR22 aircraft is a small, singleengine, four-place, composite-construction aircraft that NASA Langley acquired to support NASA flight-research programs like the Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) Project. Systems were installed to support flight test research and data gathering. These systems include: separate research power; multi-function flat-panel displays; research computers; research air data and inertial state sensors; video recording; data acquisition; data-link; S-band video and data telemetry; Common Airborne Instrumentation System (CAIS); Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B); instrumented surfaces and controls; and a systems operator work station. The transformation of the SR22 to a UAS Surrogate was accomplished in phases. The first phase was to modify the existing autopilot to accept external commands from a research computer that was connected by redundant data-link radios to a ground control station. An electro-mechanical auto-throttle was added in the next phase to provide ground station control of airspeed. Additional phases are in progress to add waypoint navigation and long range satellite voice and data communications. Potential areas for UAS Surrogate research include the development, flight test and evaluation of sensors to aid in the process of air traffic detect-sense-and-avoid. These sensors could be evaluated in real-time and compared with onboard human evaluation pilots. This paper describes the systems and design considerations that were incorporated in the development of the UAS Surrogate along with details of development problems encountered and the corresponding solutions.

Howell, Charles T., III↗

NASA NTRS2014

Exploration of the Trade Space Between Unmanned Aircraft Systems Descent Maneuver Performance and Sense-and-Avoid System Performance Requirements

A need exists to safely integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the United States' National Airspace System. Replacing manned aircraft's see-and-avoid capability in the absence of an onboard pilot is one of the key challenges associated with safe integration. Sense-and-avoid (SAA) systems will have to achieve yet-to-be-determined required separation distances for a wide range of encounters. They will also need to account for the maneuver performance of the UAS they are paired with. The work described in this paper is aimed at developing an understanding of the trade space between UAS maneuver performance and SAA system performance requirements, focusing on a descent avoidance maneuver. An assessment of current manned and unmanned aircraft performance was used to establish potential UAS performance test matrix bounds. Then, near-term UAS integration work was used to narrow down the scope. A simulator was developed with sufficient fidelity to assess SAA system performance requirements. The simulator generates closest-point-of-approach (CPA) data from the wide range of UAS performance models maneuvering against a single intruder with various encounter geometries. Initial attempts to model the results made it clear that developing maneuver performance groups is required. Discussion of the performance groups developed and how to know in which group an aircraft belongs for a given flight condition and encounter is included. The groups are airplane, flight condition, and encounter specific, rather than airplane-only specific. Results and methodology for developing UAS maneuver performance requirements are presented for a descent avoidance maneuver. Results for the descent maneuver indicate that a minimum specific excess power magnitude can assure a minimum CPA for a given time-to-go prediction. However, smaller amounts of specific excess power may achieve or exceed the same CPA if the UAS has sufficient speed to trade for altitude. The results of this study will support UAS maneuver performance requirements development for integrating UAS in the NAS. The methods described are being used to help RTCA Special Committee 228 develop requirements.

Jack, Devin P.↗

NASA NTRS2016

FT4 Data Analysis Summary (SSI-ARC)

Standards for Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) systems are currently being developed under the auspices of the RTCA Special Committee 228 (SC-228). To support the development of these standards, a series of flight tests has been conducted at NASAs Armstrong Flight Research Center (NASA-AFRC). The fourth in this series of flight test activities (Flight Test 4, or simply FT4) was conducted during the Spring and Summer of 2016. FT4 supported the objectives of numerous organizations working toward UAS DAA Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) and UAS DAA Radar MOPS. The summary provided herein is limited to the objectives, analysis and conclusions of the NASA Ames Research Center (NASA-ARC) SSI team toward the refinement of UAS DAA MOPS. This document provides a high-level overview of FT4 and the SSI-ARC objectives, a summary of the data analysis methodology and recommendations for UAS DAA MOPS refinements based on the data analysis results. A total of 72 encounters were flown to support SSI-ARC objectives. Test results were generally consistent with acceptable UAS DAA system performance and will be considered in broader SC-228 requirements validation efforts. Observed alert lead times indicated acceptable UAS DAA alerting performance. Effective interoperability between the UAS DAA system and the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) was observed with one notable exception: TCAS Resolutions Advisories (RA) were observed in the absence of any DAA alert on two occasions, indicating the need for alert parameter refinement. Findings further indicated the need for continued work in the areas of DAA Well Clear Recovery logic and alert stability for Mode-C-only intruders. Finally, results demonstrated a high level of compliance with a set of evaluation criteria designed to provide anecdotal evidence of acceptable UAS DAA system performance.

UAS Test Flight↗

NASA NTRS2013

Considerations of Unmanned Aircraft Classification for Civil Airworthiness Standards

The use of unmanned aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS) has been characterized as the next great step forward in the evolution of civil aviation. Although use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in military and public service operations is proliferating, civil use of UAS remains limited in the United States today. This report focuses on one particular regulatory challenge: classifying UAS to assign airworthiness standards. Classification is useful for ensuring that meaningful differences in design are accommodated by certification to different standards, and that aircraft with similar risk profiles are held to similar standards. This paper provides observations related to how the current regulations for classifying manned aircraft, based on dimensions of aircraft class and operational aircraft categories, could apply to UAS. This report finds that existing aircraft classes are well aligned with the types of UAS that currently exist; however, the operational categories are more difficult to align to proposed UAS use in the NAS. Specifically, the factors used to group manned aircraft into similar risk profiles do not necessarily capture all relevant UAS risks. UAS classification is investigated through gathering approaches to classification from a broad spectrum of organizations, and then identifying and evaluating the classification factors from these approaches. This initial investigation concludes that factors in addition to those currently used today to group manned aircraft for the purpose of assigning airworthiness standards will be needed to adequately capture risks associated with UAS and their operations.

Maddalon, Jeffrey M.↗

NASA NTRS2020

Defining Handling Qualities of Unmanned Aerial Systems: Phase II Final Report

Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) are no longer coming, they are here, and operators from first responders to Google and Amazon are demanding access to the National Airspace System (NAS) for a wide variety of missions. This includes a proliferation of small UAS or sUAS that will operate beyond line of sight at altitudes of 500 ft and below. A myriad of issues continues to slow the development of verification, validation, and certification methods that will enable the safe introduction of UAS to the NAS. These issues include the lack of both a consensus in UAS categorization process and quantitative certification requirements, including the definition of handling qualities. Because of the wide variety of UAS types (fixed wing, rotary wing from traditional helicopters to multirotor configurations, ducted fans, airships, etc.) and vehicle size from micro vehicles to the Global Hawk with a wing span similar to that of a Boeing 737, there cannot be a one-size-fits-all set of requirements. To address these issues, Systems Technology Inc. (STI) has developed the UAS Handling Qualities Assessment (UAS-HQ) process and corresponding draft specification that will guide UAS stakeholders through a systematic evaluation process. The work described herein builds on the existing, highly successful, military rotorcraft handling qualities specifications that features a mission-oriented approach, a concept that originated at STI. The vehicle is first identified by a simple weight-based classification and then the associated vehicle mission task elements are considered. These missions have specific tasks inclusive to them that then dictate the criteria and demonstration maneuvers necessary to evaluate the UAS handling qualities. An assessment of both modeled responses and flight test data can then be conducted to examine the predicted versus actual handling qualities and, if required, design modifications can then be made. Mr. David Klyde, Vice President and Technical Director, Engineering Services, served as Principal Investigator, while Dr. Natalia Alexandrov served as the NASA LaRC technical representative. In the Phase II program, STI was joined by David Mitchell of Mitchell Aerospace Research and the University of Minnesota. Mr. Mitchell led the draft specification development effort, while the University of Minnesota UAV Lab conducted sUAS flight tests under the direction of Dr. Peter Seiler.

Klyde, David H.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Flight Test Exploration of Integrated Wildfire Response Operations with Crewed and Uncrewed Air Assets

Since 2016, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and NASA have partnered to investigate the safe and efficient integration of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) in disaster relief operations. Current disaster response operations would benefit from the use of UAS but are limited by the need for safe airspace integration technologies and enabling regulations. The work presented in this paper focuses on the safe integration of UAS and helicopters in active wildfire disaster response operations. The authors propose the use of mission planning and traffic management technologies, including onboard pilot situation awareness support technologies, to coordinate airspace operations between crewed and uncrewed aircraft (e.g., UAS). A representative wildfire scenario including a helicopter and UAS was developed. The helicopter mission included a flight path that mimicked the siphoning of water from a natural water reservoir (lake) and a subsequent water drop over vegetation along the progressing edge of a fire perimeter. Simulated UAS were assumed to conduct aerial ignition flights in the vicinity as part of a controlled burn of the vegetation ahead of the fire front to create a natural barrier between the fire and a nearby populated area. A situation awareness tool was developed and used to support the helicopter pilots’ task to stay clear of the volume of airspace where the UAS was conducting its operation while efficiently conducting the fire suppression mission. A flight test using JAXA’s experimental helicopter was conducted in August 2022 to validate the developed technology. The advantages of the developed technology were demonstrated, and pilot feedback confirmed that real-time awareness of the UAS operation airspace helped the flight planning and execution of a safe mission that minimized the flight time loss due to the potential interference with the UAS. Post-flight interviews with the pilots indicated no sufficient increase in the pilots’ workload and provided ideas for future technology development. Future research will provide recommendations to standards development organizations to support considerations for crewed-uncrewed interactions in disaster-response operations.

disaster response↗

NASA NTRS2019

Remote ID for Rapid Assessment of Flight and Vehicle Information

The ability to rapidly identify UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in the field has emerged as a critical need for the integration of small UASs into the national airspace and counter-UAS operations. This paper proposes an architecture for rapid retrieval of UAS information leveraging NASA's current Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system. The proposed architecture utilizes UTM components: FIMS (Flight Information Management System), USS (UAS Service Supplier), and vehicle registration and model database in order to provide assessment of the UAS reported in the field including the ability to distinguish between participating and non- participating UTM actors. Detailed system descriptions are provided and preliminary results from field tests conducted during UTM TCL (Technical Capability Level) 3 are discussed. It is found that 94 percent of the remote ID look-ups were successful. The average time of a look-up is found to be 1.2 seconds. Failure cases are examined and recommendations on next steps to advance UAS remote identification are provided.

USS (UAS Service Supplier)↗

NASA NTRS2011

Flying Unmanned Aircraft: A Pilot's Perspective

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is pioneering various Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) technologies and procedures which may enable routine access to the National Airspace System (NAS), with an aim for Next Gen NAS. These tools will aid in the development of technologies and integrated capabilities that will enable high value missions for science, security, and defense, and open the door to low-cost, extreme-duration, stratospheric flight. A century of aviation evolution has resulted in accepted standards and best practices in the design of human-machine interfaces, the displays and controls of which serve to optimize safe and efficient flight operations and situational awareness. The current proliferation of non-standard, aircraft-specific flight crew interfaces in UAS, coupled with the inherent limitations of operating UAS without in-situ sensory input and feedback (aural, visual, and vestibular cues), has increased the risk of mishaps associated with the design of the "cockpit." The examples of current non- or sub- standard design features range from "annoying" and "inefficient", to those that are difficult to manipulate or interpret in a timely manner, as well as to those that are "burdensome" and "unsafe." A concerted effort is required to establish best practices and standards for the human-machine interfaces, for the pilot as well as the air traffic controller. In addition, roles, responsibilities, knowledge, and skill sets are subject to redefining the terms, "pilot" and "air traffic controller", with respect to operating UAS, especially in the Next-Gen NAS. The knowledge, skill sets, training, and qualification standards for UAS operations must be established, and reflect the aircraft-specific human-machine interfaces and control methods. NASA s recent experiences flying its MQ-9 Ikhana in the NAS for extended duration, has enabled both NASA and the FAA to realize the full potential for UAS, as well as understand the implications of current limitations. Ikhana is a Predator-B/Reaper UAS, built by General Atomics, Aeronautical Systems, Inc., and modified for research. Since 2007, the aircraft has been flown seasonally with a wing-mounted pod containing an infrared scanner, utilized to provide real-time wildfire geo-location data to various fire-fighting agencies in the western U.S. The multi-agency effort included an extensive process to obtain flight clearance from the FAA to operate under special provisions, given that UAS in general do not fully comply with current airspace regulations (e.g. sense-and-avoid requirements).

Pestana, Mark E.↗

NASA NTRS2014

A Review of Current and Prospective Factors for Classification of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems

While progress is being made on integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into our national airspace on a broad scale, much work remains to establish appropriate certification standards and operational procedures, particularly with respect to routine commercial operations. This paper summarizes research to examine the extent to which today's civil aircraft taxonomy applies to UAS, and, if needed, how that taxonomy could be amended to better cover different UAS designs and operations. Factors that shape the current taxonomy, as defined in the Federal Aviation Regulations, were assessed for applicability to UAS, potential incompatibilities were identified, and additional factors were proposed that might be useful for an updated aircraft taxonomy intended to cover UAS. The results suggest the possibility of constructing new groups in the taxonomy for UAS under a restricted category that share common airworthiness standards. Establishing distinct groups for UAS and associated standards that enable low risk operations for compensation or hire could be a timely step toward full integration. Such a step would allow the civil aviation industry and regulators to gain valuable experience with UAS while carefully controlling access and potential harm to the aviation system as a whole.

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Toward a Safety Risk-Based Classification of Unmanned Aircraft

There is a trend of growing interest and demand for greater access of unmanned aircraft (UA) to the National Airspace System (NAS) as the ongoing development of UA technology has created the potential for significant economic benefits. However, the lack of a comprehensive and efficient UA regulatory framework has constrained the number and kinds of UA operations that can be performed. This report presents initial results of a study aimed at defining a safety-risk-based UA classification as a plausible basis for a regulatory framework for UA operating in the NAS. Much of the study up to this point has been at a conceptual high level. The report includes a survey of contextual topics, analysis of safety risk considerations, and initial recommendations for a risk-based approach to safe UA operations in the NAS. The next phase of the study will develop and leverage deeper clarity and insight into practical engineering and regulatory considerations for ensuring that UA operations have an acceptable level of safety.

Torres-Pomales, Wilfredo↗

NASA NTRS2019

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project - Phase 2 Abstracts - FY2017 to FY2019

There is an increasing need to fly Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) to perform missions of vital importance to national security and defense, emergency management, science, and to enable commercial applications. However, routine access by UAS into the NAS remains unrealized. The UAS community needs routine access to the global airspace for all classes of UAS. Based upon that need, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) Integrated Aviation Systems Program (IASP) UAS Integration in the NAS Project identified the following goal: To Provide research findings, utilizing simulation and flight tests, to support the development and validation of Detect and Avoid (DAA) and Command and Control (C2) technologies necessary for integrating UAS into the NAS. Because this is such a broad reaching challenge facing the UAS community, the UAS-NAS Project recognizes the importance of working together with others in Industry and Other Government Agencies to overcome the technical, operational, and public perception barriers.

bibliographic report↗

NASA NTRS2020

Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration in the National Airspace System Project: Phase 2 Abstracts - FY2017 to FY2020

Jamie Marie Turner↗

DOE OSTI2022

Systems and Implementation: Integrating Unmanned Aircraft Systems into Physical Protection Systems at Fixed Sites and During Transportation

Physical protection systems, and response forces in particular, are designed to prevent an adversary from successfully completing a malevolent act against a facility or transport operations. Timely detection and assessment of any potential adversary action against a target is an essential element of materials security. The timely detection and assessment must then be followed-up by a capable and timely response that might be enhanced with the additional situational awareness provided by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The United States Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration Office of International Nuclear Security has been exploring capabilities provided by UAS to support response force operations within the physical protection system. UAS have the potential to provide response force commanders and operators with situational awareness in assessing adversary locations and actions as well as the locations of responders. UAS may be utilized for area searches ahead of responder pathways to identify potential threats and to provide situational awareness of areas not normally covered by cameras (such as areas outside the fence line outside at fixed facilities). In addition, UAS can provide real-time information to transportation convoy teams that pass through constantly changing public access environments. This paper will provide operational recommendations to be addressed when integrating UAS into existing physical protection systems at fixed sites and during transport. Recommendations will include aspects of the following: needs analysis; tactics and techniques to support detection and assessment as well as response force deployment; remote pilot selection, qualifications, training, and currency; UAS selection criteria; UAS laws and regulations; possible cost sharing with other facility operations; and on-scene emergency management.

Stockwell, Brandon↗

DOE OSTI2020

Unified architecture for data-driven metadata tagging of building automation systems

This article presents a Unified Architecture (UA) for automated point tagging of Building Automation System (BAS) data, based on a combination of data-driven approaches. Advanced energy analytics applications—including fault detection and diagnostics and supervisory control—have emerged as a significant opportunity for improving the performance of our built environment. Effective application of these analytics depends on harnessing structured data from the various building control and monitoring systems, but typical BAS implementations do not employ any standardized metadata schema. While standards such as Project Haystack and Brick Schema have been developed to address this issue, the process of structuring the data, i.e., tagging the points to apply a standard metadata schema, has, to date, been a manual process. This process is typically costly, labor-intensive, and error-prone. In this work we address this gap by proposing a UA that automates the process of point tagging by leveraging the data accessible through connection to the BAS, including time-series data and the raw point names. The UA intertwines supervised classification and unsupervised clustering techniques from machine learning and leverages both their deterministic and probabilistic outputs to inform the point tagging process. Furthermore, we extend the UA to embed additional input and output data-processing modules that are designed to address the challenges associated with the real-time deployment of this automation solution. We test the UA on two datasets for real-life buildings: (i) commercial retail buildings and (ii) office buildings from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) campus. We report the proposed methodology correctly applied 85–90% and 70–75% of the tags in each of these test scenarios, respectively for two significantly different building types used for testing UA's fully-functional prototype. The proposed UA, therefore, offers promising approach for automatically tagging BAS data as it reaches close to 90% accuracy. Further building upon this framework to algorithmically identify the equipment type and their relationships is an apt future research direction to pursue.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗