Development of Training Techniques for Civilian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

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In February 2012, President Obama and the Congress set 2015 as the deadline to allow the operation of civilian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in national airspace. The transportation system of North America is quickly moving toward the acceptance of UAVs in the National Airspace System (NAS). Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the U.S. Air Force are determining how these vehicles will coexist with manned aircraft. In Canada, Transport Canada is working with industry to address these issues. Once the operating platform is established and agreed on, the public airport system will begin to see UAVs using their airfields. The National Broadcasting Company predicts that 10,000 commercial UAVs will be operating in the US within five years. All the UAVs will need remote pilots while all pilots need training. However, there is no industry standard for pilot training and certification. The current practice is mostly ad hoc. For the proposed project, Moncton Flight College (MFC) would like to engage with researchers at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) in a new collaborative partnership to research and develop pilot training technologies and procedures for civilian UAVs. Research results will be verified and tested at MFC with the assistance of MFC staff. Over the past four years, the COBRA research group at UNB has established a multiple robot system. The UAV platforms include fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and eight-rotor rotorcraft. The COBRA research group has obtained a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) from Transport Canada. The current project is proposed to extend the research of the developed UAV technologies, focusing on the investigation of training techniques for civilian UAVs. The proposed NSERC Engage project targets an emerging market: pilot training for civilian UAVs. Based on the proposed research, MFC will be able to provide cost-effective and unique solutions and a competitive advantage in pilot training.