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Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering

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Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
  • Item
    Terrain Height Evidence Sharing for Collaborative Autonomous Rotorcraft Operation
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013-01) Johnson, Eric N. ; Mooney, John G. ; White, Matthew ; Hartman, Jonathan ; Sahasrabudhe, Vineet
    This paper describes recent results from a partnership between the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop, improve, and flight test a sensor, guidance, navigation, control, and real-time information sharing system to support collaborative autonomy and high performance nap-of-the-Earth helicopter flight. The emphasis here is on smart and selective sharing of terrain data which (1) minimizes the bandwidth consumed by obstacle/terrain-information-sharing between aircraft, (2) assigns an appropriate level of confidence to the data received from other heterogeneous aircraft, (3) is robust to sensor error and failures, and (4) is robust to entry and exit of vehicles from the network. Results from simulation and flight testing are provided.
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    Markov Modeling of Component Fault Growth Over A Derived Domain of Feasible Output Control Effort Modifications
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-08) Bole, Brian ; Goebel, Kai ; Vachtsevanos, George J.
    This paper introduces a novel Markov process formulation of stochastic fault growth modeling, in order to facilitate the development and analysis of prognostics-based control adaptation. A metric representing the relative deviation between the nominal output of a system and the net output that is actually enacted by an implemented prognostics-based control routine, will be used to define the action space of the formulated Markov process. The state space of the Markov process will be defined in terms of an abstracted metric representing the relative health remaining in each of the system’s components. The proposed formulation of component fault dynamics will conveniently relate feasible system output performance modifications to predictions of future component health deterioration.
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    Using Markov Models of Fault Growth Physics and Environmental Stresses to Optimize Control Actions
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2012-06-19) Bole, Brian ; Goebel, Kai ; Vachtsevanos, George J.
    A generalized Markov chain representation of fault dynamics is presented for the case that available modeling of fault growth physics and future environmental stresses can be represented by two independent stochastic process models. A contrived but representatively challenging example will be presented and analyzed, in which uncertainty in the modeling of fault growth physics is represented by a uniformly distributed dice throwing process, and a discrete random walk is used to represent uncertain modeling of future exogenous loading demands to be placed on the system. A finite horizon dynamic programming algorithm is used to solve for an optimal control policy over a finite time window for the case that stochastic models representing physics of failure and future environmental stresses are known, and the states of both stochastic processes are observable by implemented control routines. The fundamental limitations of optimization performed in the presence of uncertain modeling information are examined by comparing the outcomes obtained from simulations of an optimizing control policy with the outcomes that would be achievable if all modeling uncertainties were removed from the system.
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    Flight Testing of Nap of-the-Earth Unmanned Helicopter Systems
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011-05) Johnson, Eric N. ; Mooney, John G. ; Ong, Chester ; Sahasrabudhe, Vineet ; Hartman, Jonathan
    This paper describes recent results from a partnership between the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop, improve, and flight test a sensor, guidance, navigation, control, and real-time flight path optimization system to support high performance nap-of-the-Earth helicopter flight. The emphasis here is on optimization for a combination of low height above terrain/obstacles and high speeds. Multiple methods for generating the desired flight path were evaluated, including (1) a simple processing of each laser scan; and (2) a potential field based method. Simulation and flight test results have been obtained utilizing an onboard laser scanner to detect terrain and obstacles while flying at low altitude, and have successfully demonstrated obstacle avoidance in a realistic semi-urban environment at speeds up to 40 ft/s while maintaining a miss distance of 50 ft horizontally and vertically. These results indicate that the technical approach is sound, paving the way for testing of even lower altitudes, higher speeds, and more aggressive maneuvering in future work.
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    High Performance Nap-of-the-Earth Unmanned Helicopter Flight
    (Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011) Johnson, Eric N. ; Mooney, John G. ; Ong, Chester ; Sahasrabudhe, Vineet ; Hartman, Jonathan
    This paper describes recent results from a partnership between the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation and the Georgia Institute of Technology to develop, improve, and flight test a sensor, guidance, navigation, control, and real-time flight path optimization system to support high performance nap-of-the-Earth helicopter flight. The emphasis here is on optimization for a combination of low height above terrain/obstacles and high speeds. Multiple methods for generating the desired flight path were evaluated, including (1) a simple processing of each laser scan; and (2) a potential field based method. Simulation and flight test results have been obtained utilizing an onboard laser scanner to detect terrain and obstacles while flying at low altitude, and have successfully demonstrated obstacle avoidance at speeds up to 40 ft/s while maintaining a miss distance of 50 ft horizontally and vertically. These results indicate that the technical approach is sound, paving the way for testing of even lower altitudes, higher speeds, and more aggressive maneuvering in future work.