Multi-Vehicle Systems and Air Traffic Control Commons^™

White Paper On Tuition Based Ab Initio Training Programs For Air Traffic Controllers, Tim Brady, Gregory Mcguirk

Publications

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is proposing an evaluation to transform the legacy method for hiring and training air traffic controllers. This evaluation will examine a transition to a prospective employee-funded, tuition-based model, while reinvesting savings to create a state-of-the-art air traffic training center at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City.

The Impact Of Training And Technology On The Future Of Aviation, Jennifer Oberg

Graduate Student Works

The comprehensive exam proposal is intended to address the core competency requirements for the degree of Master of Aeronautical Science. In addition, the proposal will address the competency requirements for the Aviation Education Specialization. In partial fulfillment of these requirements, the proposal will examine human factors as they pertain specifically to the arena of unmanned flight, the impact computer based training and web based training advances have and will continue to have on the aviation community, the technological, social, environmental, and political aspects of the air cargo industry as they pertain to the industry’s survival, the ability of Next Generation …

Keeping The Skies Safe, Massood Towhidnejad, Andrew J. Kornecki

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

Professors Massood Towhidnejad and Andrew Kornecki shine a light on how their lab is helping government and the aviation industry to enhance the safety and security of software-intensive systems.

A Decision Making Framework With Modflow-Fmp2 Via Optimization: Determining Trade-Offs In Crop Selection, K R. Fowler, E W. Jenkins, C Ostrove, J C. Chispell, M W. Farthing, M Parno

United States Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District

Farmers in regions experiencing water stress or drought conditions can struggle to balance their crop portfolios. Periods of low precipitation often lead to increased, unsustainable reliance on groundwatersupplied irrigation. As a result, regional water management agencies place limits on the amount of water which can be obtained from groundwater, requiring farmers to reduce acreage for more water-intensive crops or remove them from the portfolio entirely. Real-time decisions must be made by the farmer to ensure viability of their farming operation and reduce the impacts associated with limited water resources. Evolutionary algorithms, coupled with accurate, flexible, realistic simulation tools, are ideal …

Interaction Model Of Functions In The National Airspace System, Nathan F. Koerschner, Steven J. Landry

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

The National Airspace System (NAS) is comprehensively described by five functions derived from big-picture goals: (1) conflict detection and resolution, (2) controlling aircraft states, (3) traffic flow management, (4) controlling passenger states, and (5) controlling company resources. It can be reasonably assumed that these functions interact in some way; this interaction is currently unknown. A model of the entire NAS would be helpful in discovering these interactions, yet no such comprehensive model exists. To address this problem an agent-based state-based model was created in MATLAB. To date, only functions (1) and (2) were implemented. Running the model shows that there …

Uav Formation Flight Utilizing A Low Cost, Open Source Configuration, Christian W. Lopez

Master's Theses

The control of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a swarm or cooperative team scenario has been a topic of great interest for well over a decade, growing steadily with the advancements in UAV technologies. In the academic community, a majority of the studies conducted rely on simulation to test developed control strategies, with only a few institutions known to have nurtured the infrastructure required to propel multiple UAV control studies beyond simulation and into experimental testing. With the Cal Poly UAV FLOC Project, such an infrastructure was created, paving the way for future experimentation with multiple UAV control systems. …

Pseudolite Architecture And Performance Analysis For The Faa's Nextgen Airspace, Joseph A . Czabaranek

Theses and Dissertations

By 2025 the FAA plans to have fully implemented its NextGen Airspace design. NextGen takes advantage of modern positioning technologies as well as automation, data sharing, and display technologies that will allow more efficient use of our ever busier National Airspace (NAS). A key element of NextGen is the transition from surveillance RADAR providing aircraft separation and navigation to the use of the GPS and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B). ADS-B couples the precision of the GPS with networked ground and airborne receivers to provide precise situational awareness to pilots and controllers. The result is increased safety, capacity, and access …

Aerial Networking For The Implementation Of Cooperative Control On Small Unmanned Aerial Systems, Scott A . Songer

Theses and Dissertations

The employment of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) for reconnaissance and surveillance missions is a vital capability of the United States military. Cooperative control algorithms for SUAS can enable tactical multi-vehicle configurations for communications extension, intelligent navigation, and a multitude of other applications. Past research at AFIT has designed and simulated a cooperative rover-relay algorithm for extended communications and has investigated its implementation through various modem configurations. This research explores aerial networking options for implementing cooperative control and applies them to an actual SUAS. Using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware, a system was designed and flight tested to implement the rover-relay …

Effects Of Stereoscopic 3d Digital Radar Displays On Air Traffic Controller Performance, Jason G. Russi

Theses and Dissertations

Air traffic controllers are responsible for directing air traffic based upon decisions made from traffic activity depicted on 2Dimensional (2D) radar displays. Controllers must identify aircraft and detect potential conflicts while simultaneously developing and executing plans of action to ensure safe separation is maintained. With a nearly 100% increase in traffic expected within the next decade (FAA, 2012a), controllers' abilities to rapidly interpret spacing and maintain awareness for longer durations with increased workload will become increasingly imperative to safety. The current display design spatially depicts an aircraft's position relative to the controller's airspace as well as speed, altitude, and direction …

The Potential Costs To The Dod Of Not Preparing For The Nextgen Nas Overhaul: Lessons Learned From Rvsm, Casey Richardson

Graduate Student Works

In order to facilitate a significant overhaul of the civilian National Airspace System (NAS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has partnered with many federal agencies, such as the departments of Transportation (DOT), Defense (DoD), Homeland Security (DHS), and Commerce (DOC) and the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) through a consolidated Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) that was established by Congress in 2003 in the VISION 100 – Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (JPDO, 2012). The JPDO has proposed replacing the old NAS structure of primarily ground-based navigation with robust satellite-enabled air traffic procedures and to supplement ground-based air …

Development Of A Master Of Software Assurance Reference Curriculum, Andrew J. Kornecki, James Mcdonald, Julia H. Allen, Mark Ardis, Nancy Mead, Richard Linger, Thomas B. Hilburn

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

The Next Generation Air Traffic Management system (NextGen) is a blueprint of the future National Airspace System. Supporting NextGen is a nation-wide Aviation Simulation Network (ASN), which allows integration of a variety of real-time simulations to facilitate development and validation of the NextGen software by simulating a wide range of operational scenarios. The ASN system is an environment, including both simulated and human-in-the-loop real-life components (pilots and air traffic controllers).Real Time Distributed Simulation (RTDS) developed at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a suite of applications providing low and medium fidelity en-route simulation capabilities, is one of the simulations contributing to the ASN. …

Fault Tree Analysis For Safety/Security Verification In Aviation Software, Andrew J. Kornecki, Mingye Liu

Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - Daytona Beach

The Next Generation Air Traffic Management system (NextGen) is a blueprint of the future National Airspace System. Supporting NextGen is a nation-wide Aviation Simulation Network (ASN), which allows integration of a variety of real-time simulations to facilitate development and validation of the NextGen software by simulating a wide range of operational scenarios. The ASN system is an environment, including both simulated and human-in-the-loop real-life components (pilots and air traffic controllers).Real Time Distributed Simulation (RTDS) developed at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a suite of applications providing low and medium fidelity en-route simulation capabilities, is one of the simulations contributing to the ASN. …

Sun-Synchronous Orbit Slot Architecture Analysis And Development, Eric Watson

Master's Theses

Space debris growth and an influx in space traffic will create a need for increased space traffic management. Due to orbital population density and likely future growth, the implementation of a slot architecture to Sun-synchronous orbit is considered in order to mitigate conjunctions among active satellites. This paper furthers work done in Sun-synchronous orbit slot architecture design and focuses on two main aspects. First, an in-depth relative motion analysis of satellites with respect to their assigned slots is presented. Then, a method for developing a slot architecture from a specific set of user defined inputs is derived.

Libra The Airborne Launch-Pad, Lucas Schoukroun, Amandine Delahaye

Von Braun Symposium Student Posters

No abstract provided.

Integration Of Unmanned Aerial Systems In Class E Airspace: The Effect On Air Traffic Controller Workload, Jeeja S. Vengal

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As technology rapidly advances and our imagination is no longer fantasy but instead reality, the aviation community needs to concentrate on the harsh truth of airspace safety. In the situation of integrating unmanned aerial systems (UASs) into the National airspace, UASs outside of terminal areas would generally be permitted to fly their preferred routes, and self-separate, with minimal intervention from air traffic control. From an air traffic control perspective, the integration could raise a number of human performance problems including workload extremes and passive-monitoring demands. One fundamental requirement for operation in the National Air Space is to preserve the safety …

Flying Uav’S In Iraq, Stephen Rayleigh

ERAU Prescott Aviation History Program

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, or UAV’s, are a growing reality and an important new weapon for today’s military. Hear what it was like to fly the RQ-7B “Shadow” UAV during Operation Iraqi Freedom from Stephen Rayleigh who spent a year in Iraq and has more than 1,000 hours experience flying them.

A Midsummer Night’S Dream (With Flying Robots), Robin Murphy, Dylan Shell, Amy Guerin, Brittany Duncan, Benjamin Fine, Kevin Pratt, Takis Zourntos

School of Computing: Faculty Publications

Seven flying robot “fairies” joined human actors in the Texas A&M production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production was a collaboration between the departments of Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Theater Arts. The collaboration was motivated by two assertions. First, that the performing arts have principles for creating believable agents that will transfer to robots. Second, the theater is a natural testbed for evaluating the response of untrained human groups (both actors and the audience) to robots interacting with humans in shared spaces, i.e., were believable agents created? The production used two types …

Real-Time On-Board Object Tracking For Cooperative Flight Control, Ajay Kumar Mandava, Emma Regentova, Henry Selvaraj

Electrical & Computer Engineering Faculty Research

One of possible cooperative Situations for flights could be a scenario when the decision on a new path is taken by A Certain fleet member, who is called the leader. The update on the new path is Transmitted to the fleet members via communication That can be noisy. An optical sensor can be used as a back-up for re-estimating the path parameters based on visual information. For A Certain topology, the issue can be solved by continuous tracking of the leader of the fleet in the video sequence and re-adjusting parameters of the flight, accordingly. To solve such a problem …

The Effect Of Pilot And Air Traffic Control Experiences & Automation Management Strategies On Uas Mission Task Performance, Christopher J. Reynolds

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Unmanned aircraft are relied on now more than ever to save lives and support the troops in the recent Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. The demands for UAS capabilities are rapidly increasing in the civilian sector. However, UAS operations will not be carried out in the NAS until safety concerns are alleviated. Among these concerns is determining the appropriate level of automation in conjunction with a suitable pilot who exhibits the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to safely operate these systems.

This research examined two levels of automation: Management by Consent (MBC) and Management by Exception (MBE). User …

A Flight Simulation Study Of The Simultaneous Non-Interfering Aircraft Approach, Brian H. Reel

Master's Theses

Using a new implementation of a NASA flight simulation of the Quiet Short-Haul Research Aircraft, autopilots were designed to be capable of flying both straight in (ILS) approaches, and circling (SNI) approaches. A standard glideslope coupler was sufficient for most conditions, but a standard Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) based localizer tracker was not sufficient for maintaining a lateral track on the SNI course. To track the SNI course, a feed-forward system, using GPS steering provided much better results.

NASA and the FAA embrace the concept of a Simultaneous, Non-Interfering (SNI) approach as a way to increase airport throughput while reducing the noise …

Modeling And Simulation Architecture For Studying Doppler-Based Radar With Complex Environments, Nicholas J. Amato

Theses and Dissertations

This research effort develops a hybrid large-scale modeling and simulation frame- work that defines the requirements for a program to evaluate radar-aircraft-turbine- clutter interactions. Wind turbines and other moving structures can interfere with a radar’s ability to detect moving aircraft because radar returns from turbines are comparable to those from slow flying aircraft. This interference can lead to aircraft collisions or crashes, reducing the safety for air traffic. Two radar applications, INSSITE and IMOM, were investigated to determine which of the subsystems, in the proposed architecture, are currently available and which need additional development. Current radar applications either delve too …

Uas Collision Avoidance Algorithm That Minimizes The Impact On Route Surveillance, Austin L. Smith

Theses and Dissertations

A collision avoidance algorithm is developed and implemented that is applicable to different types of unmanned aerial systems ranging from a single platform with the ability to perform all collision avoidance functions independently to multiple vehicles performing functions as a cooperative group with collision avoidance commands computed at a ground station. The collision avoidance system is exercised and tested using operational hardware and platforms and is demonstrated in representative missions similar to those planned for operational systems. The results presented are the first known flight tests of a global, three-dimensional, geometric collision avoidance system on an unmanned aircraft system. Novel …

Application Of Parent-Child Uav Tasking For Wildfire Detection And Response, Stephen T. Kubik

Master's Theses

In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a dominant force in the aerospace industry. Recent technological developments have moved these aircraft from remote operation roles to more active response missions. Of particular interest is the possibility of applying UAVs toward solving complex problems in long-endurance missions. Under that belief, the feasibility of utilizing UAVs for wildfire detection and response was investigated in a partnership that included NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate and Science Mission Directorate, and the United States Forest Service. Under NASA’s Intelligent Mission Management (IMM) project, research was conducted to develop a mission architecture that would …

The Effects Of Foreign Accent And Language On Reaction Time And Accuracy In An Air Traffic Control Task, Rosabelle Suarez

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The present study examines the effect of foreign accent interference with the ability to execute commands presented in speech format. The objective of this study was to demonstrate that a foreign accent influences performance. Participants were between 18 and 40 years of age. Half of the participants were native speakers of Spanish who began learning English as a second language via the classroom setting. The other half were native English-speaking with little or no exposure to the Spanish language. The experimental design was similar to an aviation scenario where participants listened to simulated ATC procedural commands and execute them on …

Wide Area Search And Engagement Simulation Validation, Michael J. Marlin

Theses and Dissertations

As unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) increase in capability, the ability to refuel them in the air is becoming more critical. Aerial refueling will extend the range, shorten the response times, and extend loiter time of UAVs. Executing aerial refueling autonomously will reduce the command and control, logistics, and training efforts associated with fielding UAV systems. Currently, the Air Force Research Lab is researching the various technologies required to conduct automated aerial refueling (AAR). One of the required technologies is the ability to autonomously rendezvous with the tanker. The goal of this research is to determine the control required to fly …

Reweighting At-Sat To Mitigate Group Score Differences, Andrew R. Dattel, Raymond E. King

Publications

The Air Traffic Selection and Training (AT-SAT) test battery is the selection tool for applicants for Air Traffic Control Specialist (ATCS) positions within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) who have not previously been employed as an air traffic controller. AT-SAT is an aptitude test developed to predict the likelihood of successfully learning ATCS skills. Before operational use, however, concerns were raised about the low passing rate of incumbent (who are fully trained and certified) ATCS personnel (who participated in the initial research) and score differences between groups, which could result in adverse impact (possible unfair discrimination). To address these concerns, …

Performance Analysis Of A Cooperative Search Algorithm For Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Under Limited Communication Conditions, Kevin M. Morris

Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the impacts of realistic wireless communications upon a group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) utilizing a distributed search algorithm. The UAVs are used to survey an area for mobile targets and they require communication to cooperatively locate the targets. The mobile targets do not continually radiate energy, which exacerbates the search effort; a UAV could fly directly over a target and not detect it. A simulation of cooperative UAVs is implemented using the OPNET Modeler network simulation tool. The search performance of a group of UAVs is observed when communication range, data rate, and the number of …

Modeling Interface Failure In Fiber-Composites, Andrew J. Craig

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Interface failure has been studied in depth for more than the past twenty years due to its significant impact on the application of composite materials. The objective of this work is to investigate the role of the interface in the mechanical response of fiber-matrix composite materials subjected to an applied load. To do this, a single composite cylinder consisting of a rigid core, the fiber, and an elastic annulus, the matrix, with an interface of vanishing thickness separating them, is considered as the first step in what will later be representative of a composite material. Three non-linear, Needleman-type, force-separation relations …

The Effects Of Gender And Regional Dialect On Performance In Aviation Communication, Erin E. Mccollum

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

The purpose of this study was to analyze the performance effects of gender and regional dialect on air traffic control statement recall. Sixty-one student volunteers participated in the experiment. Thirty-one participants held a pilot’s license and 30 participants had no flight experience. Each participant listened to one CD with 60 ATC statements each representing a male and female voice and New England, Southern, and General American dialect. Participants were asked to recall exactly what they heard. If the participant could not understand what they heard, they requested a repeat. The participant’s performance was recorded to CD and analyzed. Demographic questionnaires …

An Analysis Of Intention Formation As A Function Of Prospective Memory In Air Traffic Controllers, Jennifer Nagle

Master's Theses - Daytona Beach

Prospective memory, or memory for future intents, is an important part of everyone's daily life. Air traffic controllers whose jobs are based in an environment that taxes their memory resources for extended periods of time rely on this type of memory. Controllers objectives often change based on incoming information and the amount of traffic they are controlling. It is important to investigate how controllers form intentions for future events, what processes facilitate retrieval of this information, and establish what influence experience may have. This study proposes to assess controllers in an air traffic scenario by employing a cognitive task analysis …