ARCAA has gained considerable expertise in all areas of: |
for aircraft and space vehicles. This includes the development of sensors and GNC systems and their intergration into the National Airspace System (NAS) |
GuidanceA significant challenge facing the operation of any autonomous system in a complex environment is the development of effective guidance capability. ARCAA currently has a number of researchers exploring the guidance (mission/path planning and trajectory generation) for UAS in a civil airspace environment. 1. Mission / Path PlanningMission/path planning is the process of determining a suitable fight path for an aircraft through a complex and dynamic environment. |
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Example of path planning in a complex airspace environment Description of Research A flight plan, typically specified as a series of waypoints, is a key component in the operation of UAS in the national airspace. Automation of the pre-flight and in-flight planning process is thus necessary if a high degree of onboard autonomy is to be achieved. The UAS needs to not only find a path to specified goal waypoints, but also needs to consider:
Often an optimal flight path must trade-off between these factors. To further complicate this process, in-flight replanning also has real time processing constraints. ARCAA has a number of researchers focussing on the development of a framework for mission flight planning that integrates multi-criteria decision making methods with path planning algorithms. |
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Optimal mission plan taking into consideration airspace no fly zones, rules of the air, midair collision risk and the risk to people on the ground |
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NavigationARCAA currently conducts research into the development of: 1.Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS)ARCAA has a long history of GNSS research and development, which originated in the mid-90's during the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems (CRCSS) FedSat Project. This work has continued with ARCAA, focusing more on the aviation specific problems of integrity in GNSS navigation systems.
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Visibility of a GNSS constellation [www.wikipedia.org] |
Description of Research ARCAA has a long history of GNSS research and development, which originated in the mid-90's during the Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems (CRCSS) FedSat Project. This work has continued with ARCAA, focusing more on the aviation specific problems of integrity in GNSS navigation systems. ARCAA researchers are investigating GNSS augmentation systems including Space Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS), Ground-based Regional Augmentation Systems (GRAS) and Aircraft Based Augmentation Systems (ABAS). For more information visit: ARCAA is currently developing a world-class GNSS research laboratory, including GNSS Signal-in-Space simulation capability. ARCAA actively partakes in industry collaboration, including participation in the Austarlian Strategic Air Transport Management Group (ASTRA) through the ADS-B Implementation Team (ABIT) and GNSS Implementation Teams (GIT). ARCAA has provided consultancy services to Airservices Australia and Boeing Phantom Works in the area of future directions of GNSS. Current Research Programs
Publications Related Sites Research Personnel |
3.Vision-Based Navigation and Attitude EstimationVision-based navigation and attitude estimation includes a wide range of machine-vision based techniques for obtaining information about the aircraft's state. This can include visible and non-visible spectrum (for example infra-red).
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Horizon detection algorithm used for attitude estimation |
Description of Research ARCAA researchers are currently investigating vision-based techniques for aircraft (including UAV) approach and landing. These approaches draw on optical-flow and Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) with particular application to the Forced-Landing Problem. Current research is investigating a means for estimating the flight critical parameters of pitch angle, roll angle and the three body rates using horizon detection and optical flow. We achieve this through the use of an image processing front-end to detect candidate horizon lines through the use of morphological image processing and the Hough transform. As shown in the image below.
Outputs from the horizon detection algorithm The optical flow of the image for each candidate line is then calculated, as shown below.
Optic flow calculated for candidate horizon line Using these measurements, we are able to estimate the body rates of the aircraft. Using an Extended Kalman Filter (EFK), the candidate horizon lines are propagated and tracked through successive image frames, with statistically unlikely horizon candidates eliminated.
Output from combined line detection and optic flow This research is currently being applied for attitude estimation and navigation during forced landing scenarios. Publications Related Sites Research Personnel |
Control
ARCAA has a demonstrated expertise in the development of control systems for satellites and aircraft. With research programs in:
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