SBIR Phase I: 4D Flightpath-Based Autonomous Separation Assurance Systems (ASAS)

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是实现对空域的安全和自主管理和控制。无人机(UAV)和高级空中机动(AAM)部门预计将增长，但只有在无人机和AAM操作高度自动化的情况下，这才在经济上可行。该项目开发的技术使用一种新的基于轨迹的方法来进行飞机和空域操作，以支持该级别的自动化。该项目的直接重点是新兴的AAM飞机和空域，但该技术对商业空中交通管制(ATC)系统的应用具有更广泛的潜在影响。在美国，在一年的时间里，1800多个操作错误(违反最低要求间隔)被正式归因于空域管制员的错误。商用空管系统主要是一个人工系统，随着目前系统的逐步改进，空中交通管制员可以管理的航班数量是有限的。空中交通工具(各类)数量的增加要求空中交通管制系统更加自动化，以保持其安全记录。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在为AAM级车辆提供自动驾驶飞机和空域管理和控制系统的功能概念验证演示。预计这些航空部门将迅速扩张，但高度人工实施空域管制将是不切实际的，在经济上也不可行。这项研究的目标是支持更高水平的自动化，使这些部门能够增长。飞机的飞行任务是由4D解析飞行路径模型定义的；飞机必须精确地按照模型设定的飞行路径飞行。确定性和某些算法自主地检测和解决空域中所有飞机的飞行路径模型之间的潜在分离事件损失。自动驾驶仪允许飞机自主操作，消除冲突确保了空域的安全运行。开发拟议的演示系统将确定和解决通信和整合问题。演示系统旨在提供测试案例，以评估技术的可行性、可扩展性和健壮性，并探索对非标准和不可预见的操作条件的响应。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to enable the safe and autonomous management and control of airspace. The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sectors are expected to grow but that will only be economically viable if the UAV and AAM operations are highly automated. The technology developed in this project uses a new trajectory-based approach to aircraft and airspace operations to support that level of automation. The immediate focus of the project is on the emerging AAM aircraft and airspace, but the technology has an even broader potential impact for application to the commercial Air Traffic Control (ATC) system. In the United States, over a period of one year, over 1800 operational errors (breaches of minimum required separation) were officially attributed to airspace controller error. The commercial ATC is largely a manual system and and there is a limit to the number of flights air traffic controllers can manage with incremental improvements of the present system. Expansions in the number of airborne vehicles (of all sorts) requires that air traffic control systems be more automated to maintain their safety record. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to produce a functioning proof-of-concept demonstration of an autonomous aircraft and airspace management and control system for AAM class vehicles. These aviation sectors are expected to see a rapid expansion but the highly manual implementation of airspace control will not be practical or economically viable. The objective of this research is to support a much higher level of automation, enabling the growth of the sectors. Aircraft missions are defined by 4D analytic flightpath models; Aircraft are must precisely follow the flightpaths set by the models. Deterministic and certain algorithms autonomously detect and resolve potential loss of separation events between flightpath models of all aircraft in the airspace. The autopilots allow the aircraft to operate autonomously and the deconfliction ensures safe operation of the airspace. Development of the proposed demonstration system will identify and resolve communication and integration issues. The demonstration system seeks to provide a test case to evaluate the viability, scalability, and robustness of the technology and to explore the responses to nonstandard and unforeseen operating conditions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.