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Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project

This presentation summarizes the simulation work conducted by the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. It focuses on the contribution of that research to the development of RTCA Special Committee 228's (SC-228) Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for UAS. The research objectives and primary findings from four different human-in-the-loop simulations are discussed, along with the specific requirements these studies led to in the final MOPS document.

unmanned aircraft systems↗

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: Terminal Operations HITL 1: Primary Results

This presentation covers the primary results of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project Terminal Operations Foundational Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) simulation. The study tasked 16 pilots (half with manned piloting experience, and the other half with unmanned piloting experience) with maintaining "well clear" from other traffic while performing three different types of approaches into the Santa Rosa airport. A detect and avoid (DAA) system was provided to pilots to assist their ability to manage separation. The DAA system used in this test conformed to the criteria defined by RTCA Special Committee 228 (SC-228) in their Phase 1 Minimum Operational Performance Standards (MOPS) for UAS intending to operate in the NAS. The Phase 1 system was not designed to account for terminal operations, focusing instead on en route operations. To account for this, three different alerting and guidance configurations were presently tested in order to determine their effect on pilots operating the system in the terminal area. Results indicated that pilots with the alerting and guidance condition that provided the least amount of assistance (fewer alert levels and guidance types) experienced slightly increased pilot response times and rates of losses of separation. Additional data is presented on the effects of approach type and descriptive data on pilot maneuver preferences and ATC interoperability.

terminal environmen↗

Analysis of Well-Clear Boundary Models for the Integration of UAS in the NAS

The FAA-sponsored Sense and Avoid Workshop for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) defnes the concept of sense and avoid for remote pilots as "the capability of a UAS to remain well clear from and avoid collisions with other airborne traffic." Hence, a rigorous definition of well clear is fundamental to any separation assurance concept for the integration of UAS into civil airspace. This paper presents a family of well-clear boundary models based on the TCAS II Resolution Advisory logic. Analytical techniques are used to study the properties and relationships satisfied by the models. Some of these properties are numerically quantifed using statistical methods.

Upchurch, Jason M.↗

A Family of Well-Clear Boundary Models for the Integration of UAS in the NAS

The FAA-sponsored Sense and Avoid Workshop for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) defines the concept of sense and avoid for remote pilots as "the capability of a UAS to remain well clear from and avoid collisions with other airborne traffic." Hence, a rigorous definition of well clear is fundamental to any separation assurance concept for the integration of UAS into civil airspace. This paper presents a family of well-clear boundary models based on the TCAS II Resolution Advisory logic. For these models, algorithms that predict well-clear violations along aircraft current trajectories are provided. These algorithms are analogous to conflict detection algorithms but instead of predicting loss of separation, they predict whether well-clear violations will occur during a given lookahead time interval. Analytical techniques are used to study the properties and relationships satisfied by the models.

Munoz, Cesar A.↗

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: Terminal Operations HITL 1B Primary Results

This presentation provides an overview of the primary results from the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project's second Terminal Operations human-in-the-loop simulation. This talk covers the background of this follow-on experiment, which includes an overview of the first Terminal Operations HITL performed by the project. The primary results include a look at the number and durations of detect and avoid (DAA) alerts issued by the two DAA systems under test. It also includes response time metrics and metrics on the ability of the pilot-in-command (PIC) to maintain sufficient separation. Additional interoperability metrics are included to illustrate how pilots interact with the tower controller. Implications and conclusions are covered at the end.

unmanned aircraft systems↗

UAS in the NAS Flight Test Series 3 Overview

The UAS Integration in the NAS Project is conducting a series of flight tests to acheive the following objectives: 1.) Validate results previously collected during project simulations with live data 2.) Evaluate TCAS IISS interoperability 3.) Test fully integrated system in a relevant live test environment 4.) Inform final DAA and C2 MOPS 5.) Reduce risk for Flight Test Series 4.

LVC↗

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: ACAS Xu HITL Overview

This presentation provides an overview of a recently completed human-in-the-loop simulation, conducted as part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. This study examined how to present resolution advisories (RAs) issued by Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) Xu, which can be in the vertical dimension, the horizontal dimension, or both (i.e., "blended"). The study varied the location of the ACAS Xu traffic information - it was either presented within an 'integrated' display or a 'standalone' display, where the traffic information was separated from the vehicle control interfaces and navigational information. The presentation covers the test set-up, scenario design, and facilities utilized in this experiment. The primary dependent variables are listed, but no detailed results are included in this outbrief since data analysis is still underway. Goal: assess ACAS Xu Run 5 in a HITL setting to measure pilot & system performance – RWC alerting and guidance – RA alerting and guidance • Horizontal-only, vertical-only, and blended RAs • Strengthening RAs, reversals and added/removed RAs during blended maneuvers – Incorporate realistic sensor noise into the simulation environment – Compare pilot and DAA system performance back to NASA’s Phase 1 DAA MOPS V&V HITL • We leveraged the findings of an engineering analysis conducted in March to help inform how to implement the Xu logic – Part 1 focused on how to display horizontal-only, vertical-only and blended RAs – Part 2 focused on how to display automated RA responses Xu Engineering Analysis Results Part 1 objectives: – Characterize pilot responses to (canned) ACAS Xu RAs in a variety of display configurations • With vs. Without text accompaniment • Simple vs. ‘Advanced’ aural alerting • Results – Pilots struggled to meet 5 seconds initial response requirement • Particularly against horizontal and blended RAs – Pilots failed to respond more quickly to secondary RAs • Expected response time to subsequent RAs = 2.5 seconds No clear effect of the different alerting conditions on response times – Response times primarily driven by RA type • Pilots demonstrated high level of compliance with RAs and self-reported Xu alerting and guidance as being acceptable – 1/5 reported text as being necessary – 4/5 wanted the aural alert to retain the original RA sequence (i.e., issue a follow-on RA second rather than first) – 4/5 wanted to retain the “Maintain Heading/Vertical Speed” aural alert in the event that the pilot reached their target response at the time of secondary RA Based on these results, we decided on the following for the HITL experimental design: – Incorporated an ‘auto-fill’ feature in Vigilant Spirit that removes the need for pilots to manually enter a heading or altitude for RAs • Pilots only have to click ‘Send’ to upload the RA target heading/altitude – Did not include an RA ‘text box’ • The auto-fill feature largely replaces the purpose of the text box – Using a combination of the ‘Basic’ and ‘Advanced’ aural alerting • In case of blended maneuvers will issue “Maintain Heading/Vertical Rate” if pilot has reached 1st RA target at the time the 2nd RA is issued • Integration and testing with Xu Run 5 also resulted in us adding display logic to modify how horizontal RAs are presented – Target heading was shown to update at approx. 1 Hz making it difficult for pilots to implement – Display logic limited horizontal RA strengthening to once every 5 seconds • Did not impact timing of reversals, new RAs (i.e., blended), or CoC Engineering Analysis Results

human systems integration↗

Hybrid Network Architectures for the Next Generation NAS

To meet the needs of the 21st Century NAS, an integrated, network-centric infrastructure is essential that is characterized by secure, high bandwidth, digital communication systems that support precision navigation capable of reducing position errors for all aircraft to within a few meters. This system will also require precision surveillance systems capable of accurately locating all aircraft, and automatically detecting any deviations from an approved path within seconds and be able to deliver high resolution weather forecasts - critical to create 4- dimensional (space and time) profiles for up to 6 hours for all atmospheric conditions affecting aviation, including wake vortices. The 21st Century NAS will be characterized by highly accurate digital data bases depicting terrain, obstacle, and airport information no matter what visibility conditions exist. This research task will be to perform a high-level requirements analysis of the applications, information and services required by the next generation National Airspace System. The investigation and analysis is expected to lead to the development and design of several national network-centric communications architectures that would be capable of supporting the Next Generation NAS.

Madubata, Christian↗

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: ACAS Xu Engineering Analysis Results

This presentation provides an overview of the results from a two-part engineering analysis conducted as part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. Part one of this analysis examined how to present resolution advisories (RAs) issued by Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) Xu, which can be in the vertical dimension, the horizontal dimension, or both (i.e., "blended"). The study varied the appearance of the alerting and the verbiage used in the aural alerts. Results revealed high acceptability ratings for the appearance of the RA guidance. Part two of the analysis assessed pilot acceptability of varying levels of automation in the collision avoidance (CA) task. Pilots experienced conditions in which ACAS Xu RAs were executed either manually or automatically (i.e., auto-Collision Avoidance). In some conditions the return to a previously filed course was also executed automatically (auto-Return to Course). Results indicated that improvements are needed to how the state of the automation is presented. Implications of these findings are also discussed.

Detect and Avoid↗

Terminal Area Considerations for UAS Detect and Avoid

Unmanned Aircraft Systems need to be able to comply with manned aviation ‘see and avoid’ separation requirements. A Detect and Avoid (DAA) System includes sensors, a tracker, and alerting and guidance algorithms that assist a remote pilot in maintaining separation from airborne traffic. To date, DAA system requirements development has focused on operations transiting to and from Class A or special use airspace. Current efforts are defining DAA system requirements for operations in and around terminal airspace. As a contribution to the current efforts, this paper highlights results from a Human in the Loop (HiTL) experiment comparing methods of changing from the transit-specific alerting and guidance criteria to proposed terminal-specific alerting and guidance criteria. It discusses operational considerations that are beyond the HiTL.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems↗

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: ACAS-Xu Run 5 Human-In-The-Loop Sim SC-147 Results Outbrief

This presentation provides an overview of a recently completed human-in-the-loop simulation, conducted as part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. This study examined how to present resolution advisories (RAs) issued by Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS) Xu, which can be in the vertical dimension, the horizontal dimension, or both (i.e., "blended"). The study varied the location of the ACAS Xu traffic information - it was either presented within an 'integrated' display or a 'standalone' display, where the traffic information was separated from the vehicle control interfaces and navigational information. Results revealed generally positive feedback on the visual and aural presentation of RAs, with special considerations and performance implications noted throughout.

Monk, Kevin J.↗

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project: Low SWaP HITL 2, SC-228 Outbrief, EO/IR & ATAR Breakout

This presentation provides an overview of a recently completed human-in-the-loop simulation, conducted as part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project. This study explored the differential effects of four low size, weight, and power radar declaration ranges on pilot and system performance. Pilots were to avoid DAA well clear against cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft under 1.5, 2, 2.5, and 3 nautical mile non-cooperative detection ranges. Results revealed that pilot performance was primarily influenced by warning-level alert duration, with sufficient alerting time being most prevalent at 2.5 nautical miles and above.

Monk, Kevin J.↗

UAS in the NAS: Survey Responses by ATC, Manned Aircraft Pilots, and UAS Pilots

NASA currently is working with industry and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to establish future requirements for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) flying in the National Airspace System (NAS). To work these issues NASA has established a multi-center "UAS Integration in the NAS" project. In order to establish Ground Control Station requirements for UAS, the perspective of each of the major players in NAS operations was desired. Three on-line surveys were administered that focused on Air Traffic Controllers (ATC), pilots of manned aircraft, and pilots of UAS. Follow-up telephone interviews were conducted with some survey respondents. The survey questions addressed UAS control, navigation, and communications from the perspective of small and large unmanned aircraft. Questions also addressed issues of UAS equipage, especially with regard to sense and avoid capabilities. From the civilian ATC and military ATC perspectives, of particular interest are how mixed operations (manned / UAS) have worked in the past and the role of aircraft equipage. Knowledge gained from this information is expected to assist the NASA UAS Integration in the NAS project in directing research foci thus assisting the FAA in the development of rules, regulations, and policies related to UAS in the NAS.

Comstock, James R., Jr.↗