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INNOVATIONS IN ENGINEERING
The FAA UAS Test Sites
Current operations and future challenges
Frank Serna (Draper Laboratory) Ray Young (NUAIR)
Troy Jones (Draper Laboratory)
19 August 2015
Draper Publication No. P-6628
Copyright 2015, Draper Laboratory
Background on UAS Test Sites
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*from FAA.gov Predator Class (~200)
Global
Hawk (~ 20)
Small UAS (~ 300,000 +)
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45 Seconds (~1 nm)
Layers of Conflict Avoidance in National Airspace
3 minutes (~5 nm)
20 Minutes
TCAS
Procedural Separation Assurance
Airspace Structure
Air Traffic Control Self Separation
See & Avoid
UA
S Se
nse
& A
void
Integration of UAS into National Airspace requires some on-board UAS capability to “Sense & Avoid” during Lost Link events – to maintain Separation or Avoid Collisions
Collision Avoidance
Tactical Separation Assurance
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NUAIR Alliance
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70 Industry & Academic Partners
Developing IFR operating procedures for UAS
Diverse flight environments -mountains to open ocean
All UAS scales from small to full size
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Griffiss Int. Airport, NY
- Full service facilities for any
size UAS
- Class D airspace
- Establish airworthiness and
procedures for larger UAS
NUAIR Flight Test Areas
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Joint Base Cape Cod, MA
- Small UAS test area
- Developmental testing new
small UASCoast Guard Air Station
Cape Cod
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Spectrum of Testing Needs
Developmental Testing
UAS design is constantly evolving
Performance goals in flux, or
undefined
Evaluate new sensors / computing
/ radio links
Desire minimal “overhead” to test
events
Example UAS Test Series – Self
Separation of UAS during Lost
Link, MITRE LD-CAP
Experimental UAS “Self
Separation” algorithm development
Needed safe operations to test
iterations of new software in flight
Operational Testing
UAS design is complete
Certify design meets performance goals
Extensive for Government programs
UAS operating in controlled airspace
Develop operating procedures with piloted air traffic
Archive performance data and prove reliability
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K-MAX OPA
On ramp at
Griffiss
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What is LD-CAP?
Demo ADS-B as primary sensor for UAS S&A
Test multiple Separation Control Algorithms
Fallback to on-board separation control during UAS lost-link
Draper developed software w/ NASA Langley Separation Control Algorithms
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Limited Deployment – Cooperative Sense and Avoid Project
http://www.mitre.org/publications/project-stories/enabling-unmanned-aircraft-systems-to-detect-and-avoid-other-aircraft
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Flight Testing on Piloted Surrogate UAS
NASA Langley Flight Testing in North Dakota (UND) Flight tests based on simulation test designs, run by NASA
Langley using a “surrogate” UAS research aircraft
One-V-One aircraft encounters executed for each flight test, Surrogate UAS expected to maneuver to avoid conflict
Test series 1 performed July 15-19 at North Dakota State University
Test series 2 performed August 5-9 at NASA Langley in Virginia
Pre-flight
briefing on
encounter
geometry
NASA
Langley
SR-22
Surrogate
RPA
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Flight Test Results – Steady State Encounter
Overtake Encounter Geometry
Ownship faster than Intruder, approaching from aft
Test Run started @ 7.5 nm separation
Draper LD-CAP App Performance
Issued Maneuver Command @ 7.5 nm separation
Predicted ~ 560 seconds until LOS
Slight heading change early to avoid conflict
StartOwnship
StartIntruder
Draper LD-CAP App Command
Make Heading 124 °
140 Knots @ 130°
109 Knots @ 135°
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Flight Test Results – Dynamic Encounter
Turn-in-Front Encounter Geometry Ownship & Intruder
similar speeds
Start Parallel tracks
Intruder turns across path
Draper LD-CAP App Performance First Maneuver
Command @ 4.5 nm, 60 sec LOS – not valid
Second Manuever 10 sec later @ 4.3 nm –valid to resolve
Maneuver dynamics can lead to uncertainty in resolutions
StartOwnship
StartIntruder
1) Draper LD-CAP App Command
Make Heading 130°
140 Knots @ 135°
123 Knots @ 132°2) Draper LD-CAP
App CommandMake Heading 160°
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2
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The UAS market has shifted through proliferation of
“consumer” small UAS and liberal “Section 333” exemptions
Consumer small UAS (less than 55lb) dominate the news
Stories from recent incidents – hobbyist operations
Consumer UAS aircraft and equipment manufacturers do not
require FAA airworthiness certification for their products
UAS Test Sites oriented towards traditional airspace “COAs”
UAS Test Sites lack infrastructure for test and evaluation
Competing for relatively few system development programs
Potential new roles for UAS Test Sites
Support system-wide sUAS rules of the road development
Support FAA standards development, test, and evaluation
Support manufacturer aircraft and equipment certification
Challenges for Test Sites
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UAS Test Site Market Segments
Consumer/Commercial Small UAS Development
300,000 Consumer Small UAS sold in 2014 .. and rising! [1]
$400+ Million in UAS “drone” startups 2104 alone [2]
Don’t need infrastructure/experience of aerospace primes
Building-testing-flying cheaper than extensive analysis
Need safe fenced-off environment for rapid iterative design
Rules of the road needed for traffic management
Civil and non-defense government UAS development
Full spectrum of sizes – FAA certification standards
More traditional primes – longer development cycles
Much lower volume than consumer UAS
Approximately 400 COAs granted in 2014 [3]
Example UAS Test Series – Self Separation of UAS during Lost Link, MITRE LD-CAP
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Establishment of UAS Test Sites was a step in the
right direction
UAS technology development will benefit, but
Test and evaluation requires measurement
Measurement require instruments and data capture
Challenge will be data to needed make the safety case
for UAS ability to meet rules and risk-based standards
which apply to manned aircraft
Challenge will also be meeting needs of very diverse
UAS technology development base, commercial vs.
government vs. consumers
Conclusions
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[1] Number of consumer drones sold
Estimated from
– http://fortune.com/2014/10/08/drone-nation-air-droid/
– http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/11/dudes-with-drones/380783/
– http://dronelife.com/2015/01/24/drone-sales-figures-2014-hard-navigate/
– https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/how-rogue-drones-are-rapidly-becoming-a-national-nuisance/2015/08/10/9c05d63c-3f61-11e5-8d45-d815146f81fa_story.html
[2] Funding level for drone startups in 2014
https://www.incplan.net/blog/business-startup/the-rise-of-drone-startups/
[3] Number of COA’s issued in 2014
http://dronelife.com/2014/04/19/the-faas-drone-certificate-of-authorization-process/
References
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