Pilotless Aircraft Research Articles

Experimental air power: early British drone programs and Western violence in the interwar period

ABSTRACT In the 1920s, the British Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was working on a weaponized pilotless aircraft called the Larynx. By the end of the decade, the Larynx project had produced a series of prototypes. These were put through a number of tests flights, including a set of flights in coordination with the RAF using live ammunition in Iraq in 1929. This paper examines the development of the Larynx and these tests to understand the role of experimental pilotless aircraft programs in shaping conceptualizations of airpower in the interwar period. In doing so, I argue that the case of the Larynx illustrates important intersections of scientific experimentation and colonial violence that influenced how the aircraft was envisioned and deployed, and points us towards the longer modern histories of scientific development and Western violence that contemporary practices of targeting killing emerge from. I focus this examination on the role of the ‘experiment’ and the ‘experimental’ in the development of the Larynx and how these concepts fit within a broader understanding of aerial bombing at the time. This case demonstrates the importance studying air power in the interwar period, not just for understanding the roots of contemporary air power in colonial air policing, but also for the role that scientific experimentation and development played in shaping these practices and imaginaries of Western air power.

Quadcopter Prototype Stability Assessment With Pid Controller And Euler-Lagrange Approach

Abstract The increasing use of drones in various fields has led to their popularity in developed countries due to their ease of use and manufacture. This Miniature Pilotless Aircraft has numerous beneficial usages such as express shipping, gathering information, crop monitoring, cargo transport, storm tracking, geographic mapping of inaccessible terrain, search and rescue operations, among others. This study aims to investigate the stability of a quadcopter through simulations based on the mathematical model that describes the quadcopter’s dynamic and flight mechanics, using the Euler-Lagrange approach. It conducts simulations in MATLAB and present the principles that govern quadcopter stability, focusing on setting the PID coefficients to achieve optimal stability. This study provides insights into the principles of drone mechanics and stability, enabling us to better understand the quadcopter’s behavior and performance.

Methodology for Determining Deviations of Pilotless Aircraft from a Given Trajectory by Parallaxes of Underlying Surface Images

Purpose of research. Development of a methodology for determining deviations of pilotless aircrafts from a given trajectory in conditions of signals loss from navigation satellites.Methods. The technique is based on functional relationship between deviation parameters of pilotless aircrafts from a given trajectory and changes in longitudinal and transverse parallaxes of overlapping images of the underlying surface due to these deviations. Mathematical description of computational procedures for deviation parameters determination used methods of functions approximation and mathematical processing of measurement results with accuracy estimation of obtained results.Results. A methodology that includes monitoring, assessing the level and determining the magnitude and direction of deviations of pilotless aircrafts from a given trajectory was developed. A system of nonlinear equations describing functional relationship between deviation parameters and changes in parallax of overlapping images of the underlying surface is obtained. Linearization, normalization and solutions of this system of equations by the least squares method were performed. Analytical relations were obtained for a posterior accuracy assessment of the obtained results.Conclusion. The technique provides parameters detection and determination of uncoordinated deviations of pilotless aircrafts from a given trajectory with an accuracy commensurate with satellite navigation methods. The proposed approach makes it possible to reduce the number of processed corresponding points in overlapping images and the dimension of the problem being solved in comparison with known methods. This significantly reduces the level of computational and resource costs, which is of great importance for the use of developed technique on the board of miniature pilotless aircrafts.

Monitoring of Agricultural Land Using Pilotless Aircraft

Monitoring of Agricultural Land Using Pilotless Aircraft

Modeling Groups of Pilotless Aircraft in Constructing the Optimal Route by Machine Learning

Modeling Groups of Pilotless Aircraft in Constructing the Optimal Route by Machine Learning

Trust and user acceptance of pilotless passenger aircraft

This study examines the empirical relations between trust and society's willingness to accept an emerging technology in air travel. This paper extracts attitudinal factors related to trust from the Remotely Piloted Passenger Aircraft Attitude Scale. The analyses identified “trust in remotely piloted aircraft” and “trust in on-board pilot and aviation regulators”, among other variables such as age, gender, and perceived risk, to influence aviation consumer's acceptance of a pilotless aircraft. The modelling reveals asymmetrical and diminishing effects of trust, where an incremental improvement in trust from the mean has a limited effect on acceptance, while the equivalent loss of trust from the mean significantly reduces acceptance. Moreover, trust in on-board pilot and regulators increases the probabilities of "very likely" and "very unlikely" acceptance at the expense of neutrality. While polarisation in acceptance is consistent with earlier findings in cognizant context, this study provides empirical insights on the dimensions of trust closely linked to such polarisation.

UAVs to Monitor and Manage Sugarcane: Integrative Review

Pilotless aircraft systems will reshape our critical thinking about agriculture. Furthermore, because they can drive a transformative precision and digital farming, we authoritatively review the contemporary academic literature on UAVs from every angle imaginable for remote sensing and on-field management, particularly for sugarcane. We focus our search on the period of 2016–2021 to refer to the broadest bibliometric collection, from the emergence of the term “UAV” in the typical literature on sugarcane to the latest year of complete publication. UAVs are capable of navigating throughout the field both autonomously and semi-autonomously at the control of an assistant operator. They prove useful to remotely capture the spatial-temporal variability with pinpoint accuracy. Thereby, they can enable the stakeholder to make early-stage decisions at the right time and place, whether for mapping, re-planting, or fertilizing areas producing feedstock for food and bioenergy. Most excitingly, they are flexible. Hence, we can strategically explore them to spray active ingredients and spread entomopathogenic bioagents (e.g., Cotesia flavipes and Thricrogramma spp.) onto the field wherever they need to be in order to suppress economically relevant pests (e.g., Diatraea saccharalis, Mahanarva fimbriolata, sugarcane mosaic virus, and weeds) more precisely and environmentally responsibly than what is possible with traditional approaches (without the need to heavily traffic and touch the object). Plainly, this means that insights into ramifications of our integrative review are timely. They will provide knowledge to progress the field’s prominence in operating flying machines to level up the cost-effectiveness of producing sugarcane towards solving the sector’s greatest challenges ahead, such as achieving food and energy security in order to thrive in an ever-challenging world.

Air passenger attitudes towards pilotless aircraft

This paper presents the results of an investigation into attitudes towards and willingness to fly in pilotless aircraft (PAs) among a sample of 711 UK people known to fly at least occasionally. A problem with past studies in the area is that attitudes have only been measured explicitly, using questionnaire items drawn from literature in the field. Also, distinctions between attitude strength and attitude structure have not been considered. The present investigation employed an implicit measure of attitudes and examined attitudes via (i) a structural topic modelling procedure (in order to measure the structure of attitudes within the sample) and (ii) an Implicit Association Test (to evaluate attitude strength). Outcomes to the Implicit Association Test contributed significantly and substantially to the explanation of the sample members' degrees of willingness to fly in PAs. These are important matters considering the need for airlines, government agencies and aircraft manufacturers to induce public acceptance of PAs. Determinants of attitudes were posited to include self-image congruence, fear of flying, general anxiety syndrome, interest in new technologies, age, gender, and exposure to information about pilotless aircraft. A model containing these variables was assembled and estimated, the results providing a good fit (R2 = 0.58) with data obtained from the sample. Three primary components of attitude emerged from the investigation: risk, excitement and innovation. Four variables exerted the greatest effects on attitude structure, namely self-congruence, interest in new technologies, prior knowledge of PAs, and the age of the participant. Fear of flying and generalised anxiety impacted on the risk element of attitude structure, but not on excitement, innovation or attitude strength. Neither the fear of flying variable nor generalised anxiety had significant influences on attitude strength, although they did have significantly negative effects on willingness to fly in a pilotless airplane. Thirty-one per cent of the sample members disagreed or strongly disagreed with a question (five-point scale) asking whether a person was willing to fly in a pilotless aircraft. The results of the study have important implications for public information campaigns initiated by state agencies and for the marketing activities and promotional messages of airlines that will need to seek public acceptance of pilotless aircraft.

Использование беспилотных летательных аппаратов и ГИС-технологий для определения густоты эрозионной сети водоохранной зоны Белгородского водохранилища

Determining value of erosion network density in the water protection zone is the compulsory index in the automated information system of water bodies state monitoring. The authors of the article developed and tested when studying the Tsimlyansk reservoir water protection zone recommendations for determining erosion network density by materials of distant inspections carried out using pilot-less aircraft (PLA) and tools of geographic information systems (GIS). In the article assessment of erosion network density for the Belgorodsk reservoir water protection zone carried out using given recommendations is presented. Such inspections are especially actual for the banks where regular observation benchmark network is lacking or they have low transport accessibility. Based on series of photographs made by pilotless aircrafts using Agisoft Photo Scan programme relief numerical models and orthophotomaps of the water protection zone are constructed. By direct and indirect signs position of tolwegs for the relief linear erosion forms of different orders—from furrows and grooves to brooks and small rivers. According to the recommendations developed by the authors, the water protection zone is divided into elementary segments and for every of them the value of erosion network density determined using GIS tools. Assessment of erosion network density showed that on the background of general low degree of the relief horizontal dismemberment for the Belgorodsk reservoir water protection zone the reservoir right-bank within Shebekinsky municipal region was distinguished noticeably. The erosion network density of this plot by 5–7 times exceeds the value of this parameter for the whole water protection zone of the reservoir. And only here relief erosion forms fully located within the water protection zone predominate noticeably, that is not characteristic for the rest part e the reservoir cost.

Investigation of Cartesian Routing for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Networks

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, are a pilotless aircraft that does not require any direct human intervention for flying. It can move autonomously based on its pre-programmed software, or can be remotely controlled. Besides its basic plane components, it also contains some computing devices and sensors for determining its position and for gathering information from the mission area. Flying Ad hoc Networks (FANET) are comprised of autonomous flying vehicles. It is a special case of mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) characterized by a high degree of mobility. One of the most difficult and complex challenges facing FANETs is the routing process. To achieve this goal the Cartesian Orientation Protocol is used. The Cartesian routing protocol exploits geographic information for UAVs rather than using the address to direct packets to its destination. In this work, the most prominent algorithms based on geographic location has been highlighted that have been adapted to work in a three-dimensional environment and implemented in a common scenario and evaluated through several measures such as Packet Delivery Ratio, Path Dilation and End-to-End Delay.

Experimental estimates of angular coordinates and location of radio sources by highly mobile detector direction finders

Using the panoramic digital detector direction finder located onboard the pilotless aircraft of plane type of small range in the conditions of a radio measuring polygon experimental estimates of angular data and location of the sources of a radio emission functioning at fixed frequencies and in the mode of program reorganization of operating frequency are carried out. Angular data of objects decided by a phase method on use of procedures of fast Fourier transform, synchronous spectrum analysis of signals in receiving channels and elimination of ambiguity of measurements of attacks of phases by finding of indicators of their multiplicity. At a fixing of radiators the choice of a flight trajectory of the pilotless aircraft by criterion of a minimum of mean square errors of estimates of location was carried out; options of the movement of the carrier of the direction finder equipment on an arc with the maximum corner of a notch of a bearing are implemented and filched at a task of course corners in turning points of a route on the basis of a posteriori values of dispersion of coordinates of objects. The analysis of mean square measurement errors of angular data and fixing of simulators of the sources of a radio emission executed on the basis of standard signal generators, and radio stations in frequency range 30…3000 MHz is carried out.

Combined system of precise positioning of pilotless helicopter-type aircraft in the landing area

On-board equipment, ground equipment, and special software have been developed and tested that makes it possible to determine with high accuracy the relative coordinates of a helicopter-type unmanned aerial vehicle relative to a quick deployment runway in the absence of signals from global navigation systems.

A coaxial alignment method for large aircraft component assembly using distributed monocular vision

PurposeThe assembly of large component in out-field is an important part for the usage and maintenance of aircrafts, which is mostly manually accomplished at present, as the commonly used large-volume measurement systems are usually inapplicable. This paper aims to propose a novel coaxial alignment method for large aircraft component assembly using distributed monocular vision.Design/methodology/approachFor each of the mating holes on the components, a monocular vision module is applied to measure the poses of holes, which together shape a distributed monocular vision system. A new unconstrained hole pose optimization model is developed considering the complicated wearing on hole edges, and it is solved by a iterative reweighted particle swarm optimization (IR-PSO) method. Based on the obtained poses of holes, a Plücker line coordinates-based method is proposed for the relative posture evaluation between the components, and the analytical solution of posture parameters is derived. The required movements for coaxial alignment are finally calculated using the kinematics model of parallel mechanism.FindingsThe IR-PSO method derived more accurate hole pose arguments than the state-of-the-art method under complicated wearing situation of holes, and is much more efficient due to the elimination of constraints. The accuracy of the Plücker line coordinates-based relative posture evaluation (PRPE) method is competitive with the singular value decomposition (SVD) method, but it does not rely on the corresponding of point set; thus, it is more appropriate for coaxial alignment.Practical implicationsAn automatic coaxial alignment system (ACAS) has been developed for the assembly of a large pilotless aircraft, and a coaxial error of 0.04 mm is realized.Originality/valueThe IR-PSO method can be applied for pose optimization of other cylindrical object, and the analytical solution of Plücker line coordinates-based axes registration is derived for the first time.

The criterion for a rational choice of parameters of an unmanned aerial vehicle on solar energy

None of the existing characteristics of the aircraft does not give an unambiguous answer to the question of the perfection of an unmanned aerial vehicle on solar energy. For this reason, there is a real need for a generalized evaluation criterion for aircraft of this type.In the work the author proposed a criterion for rational choice of parameters of an unmanned aerial vehicle on solar energy. The criterion allows a sufficiently close analysis of existing and design variants of aircraft of this type, to choose the most successful. The criterion combines a number of key parameters that have a greater impact on the effectiveness of an unmanned aerial vehicle on solar energy: the aerodynamic perfomance, the load on the wing, the speed of flight, the required capacity for the flight.On the basis of the analysis of the characteristics of existing aircraft with an electric power plant and solar cells, quantitative values of the proposed criterion of perfection were obtained.Dependences of energy characteristics and geometric parameters of the wing of the aircraft affecting the values of the criterion of perfection are obtained.A comparison of the characteristics of a pilot-type pilotless aircraft on solar energy (flying laboratory) has been compared with the most advanced and advanced aircraft in this direction.

Responsible Design of Drones and Drone Services - A Synthetic Report

The term “drone” is the common language of all types of aircraft without a pilot on board and their ancillary components, such as a control station, if applicable. In addition to the common term “drone”, other terms and acronyms, among others, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Unmanned Aircraft (UA), Pilotless Aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) are also widely used in publications. In the past 5 years, drones have demonstrated significant growth in civil market as not only a leisure product but also a tool which can provide professional services. Professional uses of drones include, among others, agricultural services, surveillance, search and rescue, monitoring and inspection, parcel delivery and picturing and filming. Compared to conducting those services above by manpower, drones provide services in higher efficiency and accuracy, decrease the cost of actions, and expand the accessibility. The deployment of drones has impacts on individuals, the society and the environment. The potential threat to aviation safety as well as the safety of persons and properties on the ground is a central issue. In addition, given that drones are very often equipped with cameras and sensors, the potential violation to personal privacy and data protection by drone users is the major barrier that hinders the public acceptance of drone applications.

Hazard Avoidance Products for Convectively-Induced Turbulence in Support of High-Altitude Global Hawk Aircraft Missions

A combination of satellite-based and ground-based information is used to identify regions of intense convection that may act as a hazard to high-altitude aircraft. Motivated by concerns that Global Hawk pilotless aircraft, flying near 60,000 feet, might encounter significant convectively-induced turbulence during research overflights of tropical cyclones, strict rules were put in place to avoid such hazards. However, these rules put constraints on science missions focused on sampling convection with onboard sensors. To address these concerns, three hazard avoidance tools to aid in real-time mission decision support are used to more precisely identify areas of potential turbulence: Satellite-derived Cloud-top height and tropical overshooting tops, and ground-based global network lightning flashes. These tools are used to compare an ER-2 aircraft overflight of tropical cyclone Emily in 2005, which experienced severe turbulence, to Global Hawk overflights of tropical cyclones Karl and Matthew in 2010 that experienced no turbulence. It is found that the ER-2 overflew the lowest cloud tops and had the largest vertical separation from them compared to the Global Hawk flights. Therefore, cold cloud tops alone cannot predict turbulence. Unlike the overflights of Matthew and Karl, Emily exhibited multiple lightning flashes and a distinct overshooting top coincident with the observed turbulence. Therefore, these tools in tandem can better assist in identifying likely regions/periods of intense active convection. The primary outcome of this study is an altering of the Global Hawk overflight rules to be more flexible based on the analyzed conditions.

Опыт применения беспилотных летательных аппаратов для оценки состояния берегов поверхностных водных объектов

Experience of the pilotless aircrafts application for decision of tasks connected with surface water bodies’ bank stripe condition and dynamics assessment has been discussed. In order to increase substantially the survey and subsequent estimations accurancy the use of reference points (markers) has been proposed, with determining of the plane and altitude coordinates with professional two-frequency GPS-GLONASS recievers in accordance with the standing regulating documants. This approach will enable to improve drastically quality of the obtained assessments and efficiency of the pilotless aircraft application. Analysis of the slope reforming intensity has been carried out at the range of the Kosva River right bank in the vicinity of the villige of Peremskoye on the basis of the 2017 field investigations outcomes. Such estimations are necessary for effective forecasting of bank changes dynamics, as well as for designing of any bank protection measures.

Unmanned, Remotely Piloted, or Something Else? Analysing the Terminological Dogfight

Throughout their existence, several attempts have been made at naming and categorizing aircraft which are flown without a pilot on board. Regulatory documents by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have called them unmanned and remotely piloted aircraft (systems), drones, and other less popular names. This has resulted in a risk of gaps and incoherence being introduced into the system of international aviation law. The growing field of unmanned aviation has proved difficult to encapsulate in a single term which would serve as a regulatory basis. This article seeks to analyse the terminological dogfight between the most established terms used to regulate the aircraft in question. It presents the legal basis, meaning, implications, and relevance of each term and their mutual relationship. The article recommends doing away with the concept of model aircraft, as it has become difficult to distinguish recreational from non-recreational use of the aircraft in question. A critical angle is taken at the concept of pilotless aircraft, employed in the Chicago Convention. The article acknowledges that both unmanned and remotely piloted aircraft are viable regulatory concepts, but preference is given to the former due to its simplicity and wide scope. The concept of a system is seen as necessary due to the distributed nature of the aircraft.

Public Acceptance of Unmanned Aircraft

Advances in science and technology have led to the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which have been extensively used in the military and defense sections. This development, coupled with the successful use of the UAVs has, in turn, prompted the private sector to consider the use of this technology in civilian aircraft. With the increasing pressure for this technology to be adopted, scholars have conducted research to determine the public’s opinion on the matter of pilotless aircraft. Despite the abundance of literature, the information is on public perception scattered in various papers thus giving readers a harder time to find relevant information. This research, therefore, seeks to conduct a systematic review of literature in a bid to summarize, analyze, and synthesize information on public’s perception of pilotless aircraft. To attain this, this study will focus on three main objectives, which will be addressed using mixed research methods. Qualitative information will be evaluated using thematic analysis while quantitative information will be analyzed using Pearson correlation.

Drones, wind turbines, and preventing propellers from rotating in phase

In the light of recent discussion in your pages about the audibility and annoyance of wind turbines, your readers might be interested to hear of new technology being developed by NASA to reduce the sound of drones, pilotless aircraft driven by multiple motors and propellers. NASA has developed what it calls LEAP (Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller) technology to prevent themultiple propellers on a drone from rotating in phase. By doing so, noise levels are reduced compared to the synchronous condition. This is the same situation encountered with multiple turbines in a wind farm, where they can operate asynchronously (under most conditions) or synchronously (if the blades of one turbine become entrained with those of another, especially under steady wind conditions at night). Although wind turbines operate at a substantially lower frequency, I believe the parallels between the two configurations are striking, and it reinforces the idea set out in a recent Technical Note in your journal [1]. The note suggested that one way of reducing noise levels in a wind farm is to prevent multiple turbines from rotating in phase. This NASA work seems to support the validity and practicality of such an approach, and this letter draws it to the attention of your readers. Adescription of theLEAP technology appears in an article in the 20 June issue of New Scientist [2]. In summary, LEAP