Challenges of the autonomous air vehicle project of ONERA

1
Challenges of the autonomous air vehicle project
of ONERA

• The RESSAC project
• Search And Rescue (SAR) with a Co-operative
  Autonomous System
• within a network of decision and information

Patrick Fabiani fabiani_at_cert.fr
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Background VTOL UAV Automatic Ship Landing
System

• Automatic Landing System for VTOL UAV at sea
  (landing on a Frigate by sea calm to rough gt4m)
• CL227 ONERA / CANADAIR / DCN
• system definition
• control architecture
• simulation
• performance assessment
• Automatic Landing Sensor and Strategy
• sensor integration
• control laws
• landing strategy
• real time tests at 1/4 scale

3
Background UAV Studies - overview -

• MARC HALE ONERA / CS / SPOTI
• COMINT intelligence system definition
• data link and ground station
• HALERTE - ONERA project
• HALE UAV configuration optimization
• platforms and payloads data base
• USICO (EC - UAVNET Project)
• CAPECON (EC - UAVNET Project)
• Authority swapping problems between the
  operators
• and autonomous UAVs (ONERA/STTC)
• UCAVs combat UAVs

Ground Station EM intelligence
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Background VTOL UAV Autonomous Flight and
Navigation

• Autonomous Navigation System
• VIGILANT - ONERA / TSI / SPMT
• flight control system integration
• autonomous navigation
• out of sight flight Civil Aviation
  authorization (1998)

VIGILANT F2000
on ground
STRATEGY
DECISION
INFORMATION
NAVIGATION
DATA PROCESSING
PAYLOAD
GUIDANCE
on board
PILOTING
CONTROL
FUJI F5000
5
Background Autonomy
automatic functions
operator
level 5
supervision / cooperation
Strategy
Decision, planning
level 4
Navigation
target designation
Itinerary planning
level 3
route definition
Trajectory optimization
Guidance
level 2
trajectory control
Automatic Pilot
Piloting
remote piloting
level 1
Stabilization
Flight Control
remote control
level 0
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The RESSAC project (just started
2002)

• Why ?
• synergies background current studies
• new challenges
• experimental demonstrator in flight
• onboard decision capabilities
• online information processing capabilities
• generic mission management architecture
• operator-system cooperation
• new concepts of use for UAV (intervention)

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Search and Rescue with an autonomous UAV ?

• Exploration scenario in an unknown changing
  environment
• online information processing
• map updating, object detection
• online decision
• mission re-planning according to new information
• target selection and motion planning
• autonomous behaviour and automatic procedures
• terrain following
• landing in a non-equipped area
• co-operation with the operator
• choice of landing zone, landing decision,
• Confront research challenges and new concepts

!!!
?
landing zone
?
!!!
?
decision point
final landing zone
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The RESSAC project (just started
2002)

• Onboard decision making for UAV systems
• autonomous flight, navigation, information
  processing, mission control
• decision aid and information visualisation tools
  for the operators,
• Two experimental demonstrators
• Uninhabited flight demonstrator Yamaha RMAX
  è
• onboard information processing and decision,
  (May 2002)
• behavioural autonomy, system integration.
• Mission simulation demonstrator   ELIPS è
• flight dynamics, flight management procedures
• decision aid, man system interface,
• civil air traffic scenarios,
• Search and Rescue mission scenarios,
• multi-UAV scenarios

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The RESSAC project

• Work packages
• WP 1 Flight control and autonomous navigation
• WP 2 Onboard decision and co-operative mission
  management
• WP 3 Mission, system and payloads (ONERA/DLR
  common program )
• WP 4 Information synthesis and visualisation
  for the operator
• Project management is WP5.

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The RESSAC project

• Work packages and challenges
• WP 1 Flight control and autonomous navigation
• flight control demonstration of an exploration
  mission
• flight control system security (proof) and
  robustness
• integration of sensor, payload and flight control
  system
• automatic flight and navigation functions and
  procedures (adapted sensors)
• take off and landing automatic landing in an
  unequipped landing area
• terrain following
• provide a reliable test bed for
• autonomous decision capabilities demonstrations

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LE PROJET RESSAC autonomous helicopter out of
sight flight
Air vehicle
others sensors
GPS

• 5 Km range (tested) data link
• 2003 equipped flights

Camera
Security analog video link (5 GHz ). 5 Km to 10
Km range
Ground station
Avionics
Monitor
Altimeter
Navigation
Piloting
Payload
Security Control data link 2,5 GHz. 5 Km to 10
Km range

• 2004 autonomous flight
• 2005 test bed for autonomy

operator
Manual remote control
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The RESSAC project

• Work packages and challenges
• WP 2 Onboard decision and co-operative mission
  management
• generic flight control and mission management
  architecture (2003)
• validation of the core architecture and
  reusability
• modularity and test bed collection of
  alternative methods
• mission management system security (proof) and
  robustness
• integration of onboard information processing and
  autonomous decision (2004)
• autonomous exploration mission demonstrations
  (2005)
• search, reconnaissance, threat avoidance, landing
  and return
• richer scenarios in simulation

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The RESSAC project
ONERA/DLR

• Work packages and challenges (helicopter
  specificity)
• WP 3 Mission, system and payload
• SAR mission analysis optical or radar payloads,
  UAV configurations, feasibility
• flight dynamics modelling of VTOL aircraft
• safe automatic approach and landing (simulation
  on ONERA ELIPS)
• security procedures
• man system interface for security procedure
  enforcement
• flight tests on DLRs Helicopter
• global system security analysis (proof?)

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The RESSAC project

• Work packages and challenges
• WP 4 Information synthesis and visualisation
  for the operator
• provide a flexible simulation test bed for
• autonomy and operator-system co-operation
  scenarios
• multi-sensor 3D scenes (2004) real time (2005?)
• situation awareness of the operator (autonomous
  UAV behaviour) flight
• control and security procedures what autonomy ?
  (2004)
• man system interface for security procedure
  enforcement
• authority swapping between operators and UAV
  (2005)
• variable degree of on-board autonomy

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The RESSAC project

• Four Work packages 1
• WP 1 Flight control and autonomous navigation
• WP 2 Onboard decision and co-operative mission
  management
• WP 3 Mission, system and payloads (ONERA/DLR
  common program)
• WP 4 Information synthesis and visualisation
  for the operator
• Project management is WP5.
• Multidisciplinary project linked to Robotics
  (Robea , CNRS)
• Open to collaborations
• Two experimental demonstrators in flight and
  in simulation

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The RESSAC Project
2002
2003
2006
2004
2005
autonomous UAV functions

• Flight control and
• autonomous navigation
• Onboard decision and
• co-operative mission management
• Information synthesis and
• visualisation for the operator
• Mission, system and payload

autonomy flying test bed
mission management architecture
methods, algorithms
operator-system interaction
ELIPS simulation test bed
sensors, global system, security
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Yamaha RMAX Helicopter