Technology Studies

Queensland University of Technology - New technology enhances air travel safety

Das Boing Research und Technology Institut, das Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation, CSIRO arbeiten zusammen mit der Queensland University of Technology an einer neuen Methode der automatisierten Flugsicherheit.

Original Meldung:

Computers in Seattle averted a virtual midair collision between an unmanned helicopter and simulated aircraft over Kingaroy this week using new technology being developed under the Smart Skies Project, a three-year research collaboration between Boeing Research & Technology and the Australian Research Centre for Aerospace Automation (ARCAA), a joint venture of Queensland University of Technology and CSIRO.

The flight test involved a small unmanned helicopter, developed and operated by ARCAA, which was placed in a conflict scenario with a virtual aircraft.

QUT aviation researcher Professor Rod Walker said the automatic aircraft separation system used to avert the simulated collision was just one of a number of technologies being explored in the Smart Skies Project.

"As far as the aircraft were concerned this was a real collision scenario using real data links," Professor Walker said.

"The heart of the system is the automatic aircraft separation management system, which is like the airspace 'oracle', supervising all aircraft and resolving potential collisions.

"It detected a potential collision and automatically issued new flight trajectories to the aircraft. The aircraft then safely continued on with their flight. Passengers onboard would never have even known that a collision had been avoided, it was so smooth."

The test was one in a series of flights to be conducted at Kingaroy over the next month.

"The upcoming tests will also automatically separate a specially modified Cessna 172R aircraft, developed at ARCAA, from the unmanned helicopter," Professor Walker said.

He said they were also developing unmanned aircraft that could see and perceive airspace in much the same way as human pilots do.

"The successful execution of the flight test at Kingaroy provides strong evidence that modern network technologies can effectively revolutionize the way we deal with the ever-increasing volume of global air travel," Boeing Smart Skies project chief engineer Ted Whitley said.

Dr Jonathan Roberts, of the CSIRO ICT Centre, said the new technologies being investigated would help to solve a number of challenges facing the integration of unmanned aircraft into airspace, in particular, allowing unmanned aircraft to "see and avoid" obstacles including other aircraft.

"The Smart Skies Project members are investigating how other technologies such as computer vision can support the safe and efficient use of airspace by both manned and unmanned aircraft," he said.

Boeing Research & Technology-Australia's Advanced UAS Applications Program Leader Brendan Williams indicated that future phases will enhance the system's ability to manage a mixture of cooperative and un-cooperative aircraft operations.

"It's a very exciting time in aviation. The Smart Skies Project will develop a host of technologies that will enable the reliable integration of unmanned aircraft into our airspace," Mr Williams said.

The Smart Skies project is supported by the Queensland State Government's Smart State scheme.