w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Overview of Activities at the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA), Queensland University of Technology Troy Bruggemann A/Prof Rod Walker

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Outline ARCAA Background Current Research Research Samples (Vision and GNSS)

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION What is ARCAA? A successful QLD Government Smart State Research Facility Fund bid ($4M +) Joint venture: CSIRO ICT Centre and QUT Airborne Avionics Research group Wide-spread support of industry and government (DSTO, DITR, BAL, Boeing PW, SMEs) Initial focus on Civil Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) research for high-autonomy applications

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Research Research to remove impediments facing the routine use of UAVs for civilian applications –Focus on safety (vision, GNSS) –Reliability –Certification by regulators –Reduced operator requirements –Robustness (GNSS) –Reduced cost (increased automation) –Public acceptance (societal issues)

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION ARCAA Facilities A dedicated research, development and commercialisation facility Space for ~40 researchers, developers World class simulation and testing facilities to be developed Fostering international collaboration

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Who we are? CRC for Satellite Systems 18 PhD students in undergraduate Avionics students/year 5 full-time CSIRO staff 8 full-time QUT staff

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION ARCAA Workshop Major Sponsor IEEE AESS 100+ delegates Workshop to drive ARCAA research programs

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION ARCAA Workshop

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Workshop Outcomes Flight Systems & Safety –Reliable low cost systems (GNSS) –Safety of Autonomous Aircraft ‘Virtual safety bubble’ See-N-Avoid Advanced FTS (Forced Landing) –Future air traffic management technologies (pFMS) –Increased onboard autonomy –Intuitive Operator interfaces (Drag-N-Fly) OPPORTUNITIES Civ. Applications –Infrastructure Powerlines Pipelines Buildings Towers / Bridges –Environmental Bushfires Farms / Land Rivers / Reef –Search and support –Surveillance Political, Social & Regulatory –Insurance –Regulations – next generation ‘101’ –UAV Risk management –Certification standards and industry ‘best practice framework –Community acceptance –UAV training KEY IMPEDIMENTS

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Current QUT Research Areas advanced collision avoidance systems intelligent mission planning flight termination systems vision-based navigation and GNSS attitude determination systems onboard flight performance analysis and adaptive control investigation into UAV risk identification and certification airborne Ground-based Regional Augmentation System (GRAS) receiver

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #1 Vision-Based method of estimating Pitch and Roll Real-Time implementation on standard computers Developed for wide range of cameras Provides a level of virtual redundancy

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #2 UAV Collision Avoidance –Current FAA regulations require UAVs to be provided with… “a method that provides an equivalent level of safety, comparable to the see-and-avoid requirements of manned aircraft” [U.S. FAA Order Chapter 12, Section 9] –Can computer vision be used to provide a reliable, cost- effective see and avoid capability?

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #2

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #2

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #3 UAV Forced Landing Research Human pilots trained for forced landings –Detect and evaluate slope, surface, shape, field surroundings, proximity to emergency services Why not UAVs?

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #4 GRAS Airborne Navigation Receiver Augmentation using Low Cost MEMS Inertial Sensors and aerodynamic modelling for General Aviation Aircraft This research is funded by the ARC, Airservices Australia and GPSat Systems Australia.

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #4 Require Signal-in-Space of GRAS and GPS –Coverage limited by line-of-sight and modulation scheme –What areas are out of coverage at altitudes where GA are operating? Cannot account for local effects –Un-modelled atmospheric effects (eg. scintillation) –Multi-path, receiver errors, equipment failures

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #4 Development of a framework and architecture for high integrity navigation for G.A aircraft using –GRAS technology –MEMS technology Evaluate the benefits and remaining challenges of using low-cost MEMS inertial devices for approach navigation in G.A.

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #4 Research new strategies for aerodynamic modelling to improve GPS integrity monitoring for general aviation

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #5 Single Antenna GPS Attitude Algorithm for non-uniform Antenna Gain Pattern New algorithm RMS error = 13.8 deg. Previous algorithms: Duncan rms error = 21.5 deg Axelrad rms error = 16.4 deg

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #6 Fixed Wing UAV Navigation and Control through Integrated GNSS and Vision (GVSS)

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #6 Optic Flow Method Image flow generated from image stream –Gradient based method being utilised

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #6 Optic Flow Method –Looking at characteristics of gradient based optic flow and the possibility of utilizing other methods –Feature tracking approach for sparse velocity measurements Sensor Architecture

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Abnormal Flight - Stall Results

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION GVSS Controlled Flight Mean [deg]Std. [deg] Roll Pitc h Yaw

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #6 The GVSS shows potential in the confines of the simulation environment –Sub-degree Euler angle accuracy –Capable of being used to drive the control loop –Flight path information –Flight control information –Collision avoidance information Conclusion

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION QUT Research Sampler #6 Tightly Coupled GNSS / Vision Information for Improved Fault Tolerant UAV Flight Control GNSS / Vision using Multiple Image Sources Conclusion

w w w. a r c a a. a e r o AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH CENTRE FOR AEROSPACE AUTOMATION Conclusions ARCAA welcomes collaboration Opportunity for further GNSS research at ARCAA Thankyou!