Evaluation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Severe Storm Sampling Using Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulations

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A system was developed to add hardware-in-the-loop simulation capability to an unmanned aircraft system designed for obtaining in situ measurements of severe storms. The simulation combines a full six degree-of-freedom aircraft dynamic model with wind and precipitation data from simulations of severe convective storms. Interfaces were written to involve as much of the system’s field hardware as possible, including the creation of a simulated radar product server. Details of the system design and results from several runs through two simulated storm data sets are given. An assessment is provided of the fidelity of the simulator wind model through comparison to measurements made during the Spring 2010 campaign of the VORTEX2 project. Autopilot control effort is examined and shown to provide sufficient performance in different parts of the storm. Simulations run without the restrictions imposed by the FAA “see and avoid” requirements are shown to demonstrate an improvement in the ability to perform targeted observations of the storm. Wind measurements made by the autopilot are compared to truth values from the simulated data and a preliminary analysis is given on the accuracy of wind estimation. An assessment is made of the ability to determine gust-front crossings during operations from real-time telemetry and meteorological measurements. Finally, a comparison of the effect on the aircraft from transects flown at different altitudes through the storm is given.