Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Les armées d'Europe face aux défis capacitaires et technologiques

by Alain De Neve

Goncalves Da Silva V, Van Wimersma Greidanus H, Hejmanowska B, Loudjani P.: “UAS Applications With Societal Benefits – JRC’s UAS-Related Activities”, 2011-2012 UAS Yearbook - UAS Unmanned Aircraft Systems - The Global Perspective 9 (9); 2011. p. 127-129. JRC66600, 2011.

by Victor Silva (PhD)

Abstract
The main JRC institutes involved with UAS are IPSC and IES. The Institute for the Protection and... more Abstract
The main JRC institutes involved with UAS are IPSC and IES. The Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC)2, Ispra-Italy, provides scientific and technical support on EU security policies, particularly in the areas of global security and stability, border management, transport and energy security, and nuclear safeguards. IPSC also works in the fields of risk prevention and management, antifraud and econometrics. The Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Ispra-Italy, supports policies aimed at the protection and sustainable development of the European and global environment. It covers all environmental sciences, with particular competences in the fields of remote sensing and Earth observation.

EC-JRC Past, Ongoing and Upcoming UAS-Related Activities.

Onboard Multivariable Controller Design for a Small Scale Helicopter Using Coefficient Diagram Method

by Agus Budiyono

Proceedings of the ICEST, Seoul, Korea, May 2005

A mini scale helicopter exhibits not only increased sensitivity to control inputs and disturbances, but also higher... more A mini scale helicopter exhibits not only increased sensitivity to control inputs and disturbances, but also higher bandwidth of its dynamics. These properties make model helicopters, as a flying robot, more difficult to control. The dynamics model accuracy will determine the performance of the designed controller. It is attractive in this regards to have a controller that can accommodate the unmodeled dynamics or parameter changes and perform well in such situations. Coefficient Diagram Method (CDM) is chosen as the candidate to synthesize such a controller due to its simplicity and convenience in demonstrating integrated performance measures including equivalent time constant, stability indices and robustness. In this study, CDM is implemented for a design of multivariable controller for a small scale helicopter during hover and cruise flight. In the synthesis of MIMO CDM, good design common sense based on hands-on experience is necessary. The low level controller algorithm is designed as part of hybrid supervisory control architecture to be implemented on an onboard computer system. Its feasibility and performance are evaluated based on its robustness, desired time domain system responses and compliance to hard-real time requirements.

Design and Development of Autonomous Uninhabited Air Vehicles at ITB: Challenges and Progress Status

by Agus Budiyono

Paper presented at the Aerospace Indonesia Meeting, Bandung, Indonesia 27 July 2005

An uninhabited air vehicle has found diverse applications for both civil and military missions. To achieve the stated... more An uninhabited air vehicle has found diverse applications for both civil and military missions. To achieve the stated mission, the vehicle needs to have a certain level of autonomy to maintain its stability following a desired path under embedded guidance, navigation and control algorithm.
To meet the increasingly more stringent operation requirements, the UAVs rely less and less on the skill of the ground pilot and progressively more on the autonomous capabilities dictated by a reliable onboard computer system.
A model helicopter was proposed and used as a flying test-bed for the purpose of developing the autonomous capability. The ability of the helicopter to operate in the hovering mode makes it an ideal platform for a step-by-step autonomous capability development. On the other hand, a
small helicopter exhibits not only increased sensitivity to control inputs and disturbances, but also a much richer dynamics compared to conventional UAVs including: higher bandwidth, hybrid modes, non-holonomic, under-actuation, multi-input-multi-output, and non-minimum phase. These factors make model helicopters, as a flying robot, more difficult to control. The paper addresses the challenge of building an autonomous aerial system using a mini scale rotorcraft.
The enabling technology building blocks were identified and a development scheme was proposed based on available resources. Recent progresses were reported in the modeling, design and development of embedded robust control system for autonomous helicopter.

Technologie et Souffrance dans le Guerre (Forthcoming)

by Nolen Gertz

In "Les drones aériens: passé, présent et futur. Approche globale", La Documentation Française. Coll. Stratégie aérospatiale (2012)

French translation of my "Technology and Suffering in War" French translation of my "Technology and Suffering in War"

Drones: A New Chapter in Modern Warfare

by Justin D. Wallestad

Originally published on www.INEGMA.com

Less than a month had passed since the United States mourned the victims of 9/11 when American born al-Qaeda cleric,... more Less than a month had passed since the United States mourned the victims of 9/11 when American born al-Qaeda cleric, Anwar al-Awlaki, fell neither at the hands of Yemeni authorities nor through the swiftest measure of justice dragged out in the courtroom. It should come as no surprise that the targeted killing of al-Awlaki, more precisely the CIA drone strike on his vehicle well within Yemeni borders, has become highly politicized – the limelight perhaps – behind this new chapter in modern warfare.

Autonomous Altitude Estimation of a Miniature Helicopter using a Single Onboard Camera

by Anoop Cherian

Motion estimation of a miniature helicopter using a single onboard camera

by Anoop Cherian

An Experimental and Numerical Study of Calliphora Wing Structure

by Ranjan Ganguli

A Dragonfly Inspired Flapping Wing Actuated by Electroactive Polymers

by Ranjan Ganguli

Conceptual Design of Long Endurance UAV using Kriging Approximation and Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm

by Ranjan Ganguli

Unmanned Warfare: Psychological and Ethical Dimensions

by Nolen Gertz

Humanities and Technology Review, vol. 30 (2011), pgs. 57-76

Though over the years our methods of care have become more sophisticated, with each new war we’ve been painfully... more Though over the years our methods of care have become more sophisticated, with each new war we’ve been painfully reminded that we still haven’t solved the problem of suffering experienced by soldiers during and after war. However, with the military now able to use computer and real-life simulations to create hyper-realistic training programs to prepare soldiers for combat, more advanced weaponry to remove soldiers from contact with the enemy, and virtual reality in counseling to help soldiers understand their wartime experiences and integrate back into society, perhaps this technological revolution paves the way for a parallel therapeutic revolution. These ways of trying to deal with this problem show us that we haven’t yet abandoned the view that the soldier’s suffering is caused by the effects of battle. Yet, as early as 1919, Freud attempted to challenge this view by showing that “shell shock” could be better understood and treated if we stopped clinging to the idea that the “shock” is caused by the “shell,” and instead investigated the factors particular to the individual that allowed for the onset of shock in the first place. Through Freud’s research we can find a psychoanalytic method with which to explore this problem. By shifting our perspective from the battlefield to the individual I argue that the technological advances being applied to the suffering surrounding warfare are obscuring more fundamental issues. The source of this problem is much closer to home than we might realize, and technology can at best delay suffering or at worst create the dangerous illusion that we’ve cured it.

Unmanned Aircraft Collision Avoidance using Continuous-State POMDPs

by Haoyu Bai