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NASA NTRS2017

NASA's UTM Research

The Technology Capability Level-2 National Campaign (TCL2nc) was conducted at six different test sites located across the USA, during May and June of 2017. The campaign resulted in over 250 data collection flights using 26 different aircraft and involving 23 flight crews. Flights not only varied in duration, but also in the environments and terrains over which they flew. The TCL2nc highlighted beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and altitude-stratified operations, and saw five partners bring their own, independently built, UTM Service Supplier (USS) for use during the flight tests. This document presents data collected during the TCL2nc that informs the 'Operator' section of the 'Requirements/Best Practices' from the UTM Technical Capability Matrix and Guidelines to Operate (Rios, version as of March 2017). A review of the data collected indicated that although teams were well qualified on paper (in terms of both completing training and having experience with flying UAS vehicles), greater consideration should be given to the unique perspectives and backgrounds of future UAS operators. Overall, teams looked at a variety of sources for information, including USS client-displays, and participants became more aware of the need to be aware of other vehicles, highlighting the value of reporting information. Observations found that flight crews' time to respond to a UTM issue depended heavily on the team structure, communication efficiency, and crew procedures.

Mercer, Joey↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing and Testing Two Interfaces for Supplemental Data Service Provider (SDSP) Tools to Support UAS Traffic Management (UTM)

Researchers conducted a usability study using two graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to explore how individuals interpret and interact with different preflight information displays, and to inform the development of Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) preflight planning predictive support tools to assess and mitigate flight hazards and risks. A series of preflight risk-assessment tasks were developed to evaluate participant performance using the Supplemental Data Service Provider-Consolidated Dashboard (SDSP-CD) and the Human Automation Team Interface System (HATIS) GUIs. Participants were trained to use both interfaces and their performance was evaluated. These evaluations focused on participants’ preflight planning activities. Objective data on performance tasks across different scenarios involving multi-UASs, as well as self-reports of interactions and subjective experiences using the GUIs were collected. Scores on the system usability scale (SUS) and on a simple task set were examined, as well as user feedback on open-ended questions, to inform development and identify potential improvements to the interfaces.

sUAAV interfaces↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing and Testing Two Interfaces for Supplemental Data Service Provider (SDSP) Tools to Support UAS Traffic Management (UTM)

Researchers conducted a usability study using two graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to explore how individuals interpret and interact with different preflight information displays, and to inform the development of Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) preflight planning predictive support tools to assess and mitigate flight hazards and risks. A series of preflight risk-assessment tasks were developed to evaluate participant performance using the Supplemental Data Service Provider-Consolidated Dashboard (SDSP-CD) and the Human Automation Team Interface System (HATIS) GUIs. Participants were trained to use both interfaces and their performance was evaluated. These evaluations focused on participants’ preflight planning activities. Objective data on performance tasks across different scenarios involving multi-UASs, as well as self-reports of interactions and subjective experiences using the GUIs were collected. Scores on the system usability scale (SUS) and on a simple task set were examined, as well as user feedback on open-ended questions, to inform development and identify potential improvements to the interfaces.

sUAAV interfaces↗
NASA NTRS2017

TCL2 Ocean Scenario Replay

This is a video replay of system data that was generated from the UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Technical Capability Level (TCL) 2 flight demonstration in Nevada and rendered in Google Earth. What is depicted in the replay is a particular set of flights conducted as part of what was referred to as the Ocean scenario. The test range and surrounding area are presented followed by an overview of operational volumes. System messaging is also displayed as well as a replay of all of the five test flights as they occurred.

Mohlenbrink, Christoph P.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Drone Fleet Summary: NNLEMS UxS Rolodex entry for Sandia

Sandia’s UAS Aviation Operations Unit (UAOU) was established in 2019 to be the single entity at Sandia conducting UAS Ops in support the labs Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) activities. The UAOU currently consists of >330 FAA Registered UAS with a large variety of primarily Class 1&2 UAS: fixed wing (>90), multi-rotor (>230), hybrids, VTOLs, jets, and balloons. Many of these are threat vehicles presented as targets to Counter-UAS (CUAS) systems as part of performance tests, with the remainder in support of other projects across Sandia often with custom payload needs. The UAOU has ~15 primary pilots and reach back to another ~45 FAA Certified Remote Pilots across Sandia. The team conducts flight and CUAS operations at many test locations, including OCONUS. Sandia was awarded the 2024 DOE Federal Aviation Safety Program Award.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2017

Greased Lightning (GL-10) Performance Flight Research: Flight Data Report

Modern aircraft design methods have produced acceptable designs for large conventional aircraft performance. With revolutionary electronic propulsion technologies fueled by the growth in the small UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) industry, these same prediction models are being applied to new smaller, and experimental design concepts requiring a VTOL (Vertical Take Off and Landing) capability for ODM (On Demand Mobility). A 50% sub-scale GL-10 flight model was built and tested to demonstrate the transition from hover to forward flight utilizing DEP (Distributed Electric Propulsion)[1][2]. In 2016 plans were put in place to conduct performance flight testing on the 50% sub-scale GL-10 flight model to support a NASA project called DELIVER (Design Environment for Novel Vertical Lift Vehicles). DELIVER was investigating the feasibility of including smaller and more experimental aircraft configurations into a NASA design tool called NDARC (NASA Design and Analysis of Rotorcraft)[3]. This report covers the performance flight data collected during flight testing of the GL-10 50% sub-scale flight model conducted at Beaver Dam Airpark, VA. Overall the flight test data provides great insight into how well our existing conceptual design tools predict the performance of small scale experimental DEP concepts. Low fidelity conceptual design tools estimated the (L/D)( sub max)of the GL-10 50% sub-scale flight model to be 16. Experimentally measured (L/D)( sub max) for the GL-10 50% scale flight model was 7.2. The aerodynamic performance predicted versus measured highlights the complexity of wing and nacelle interactions which is not currently accounted for in existing low fidelity tools.

McSwain, Robert G.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Wind Tunnel Testing of Static Aerodynamic and Power Consumption Characteristics of an Octocopter

The introduction of multirotor unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in low-altitude airspace poses significant safety challenges. Further development of advanced aviation systems is needed to realize the full potential of UAS applications, particularly for urban and beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations. The NASA System Wide Safety (SWS) project is developing key technologies to mitigate future airspace safety risks involving autonomous aircraft operation in densely populated areas. An important part of these technologies requires flight dynamics and performance models to assess feasible trajectories, power consumption requirements, and operational envelope limitations. To support these efforts, this research seeks to improve the accuracy of multirotor aerodynamic models and investigate stability characteristics relevant to flight safety. This paper presents a recent study of an octocopter vehicle using the NASA Langley 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel (LST). Results from isolated-airframe (no propellers) and powered-airframe tests are presented. A one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) approach was used to explore the effect of propeller advance ratio and vehicle angle of attack on vehicle forces, moments, and power consumption. The results show nonlinear aerodynamic behavior and indicate regions where aerodynamic interaction effects may be significant.

George V. Altamirano↗
NASA NTRS2019

Remote ID for Rapid Assessment of Flight and Vehicle Information

The ability to rapidly identify UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) in the field has emerged as a critical need for the integration of small UASs into the national airspace and counter-UAS operations. This paper proposes an architecture for rapid retrieval of UAS information leveraging NASA's current Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system. The proposed architecture utilizes UTM components: FIMS (Flight Information Management System), USS (UAS Service Supplier), and vehicle registration and model database in order to provide assessment of the UAS reported in the field including the ability to distinguish between participating and non- participating UTM actors. Detailed system descriptions are provided and preliminary results from field tests conducted during UTM TCL (Technical Capability Level) 3 are discussed. It is found that 94 percent of the remote ID look-ups were successful. The average time of a look-up is found to be 1.2 seconds. Failure cases are examined and recommendations on next steps to advance UAS remote identification are provided.

USS (UAS Service Supplier)↗
NASA NTRS2019

Remote ID for Rapid Assessment of Flight and Vehicle Information

The ability to rapidly identify UAS in the field has emerged as a critical need for the integration of small UASs into the national airspace and counter-uas operations. This paper proposes an architecture for rapid retrieval of UAS information leveraging NASA's current Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system. The proposed architecture utilizes UTM components: FIMS (Flight Information Management System), USS (UAS Service Supplier), and vehicle registration and model database in order to provide assessment of the UAS reported in the field including the ability to distinguish between participating and non- participating UTM actors. Detailed system descriptions are provided and preliminary results from field tests conducted during UTM TCL (Technical Capability Level) 3 are discussed. It is found that 94% of the remote ID look-ups were successful. The average time of a look-up is found to be 1.2 seconds. Failure cases are examined and recommendations on next steps to advance UAS remote identification are provided.

Ishihara, Abraham K.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Evaluation of Early Ground Control Station Configurations for Interacting with a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) System

The purpose of this paper is to report on a human factors evaluation of ground control station design concepts for interacting with an unmanned traffic management system. The data collected for this paper comes from recent field tests for NASA's Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) project, and covers the following topics; workload, situation awareness, as well as flight crew communication, coordination, and procedures. The goal of this evaluation was to determine if the various software implementations for interacting with the UTM system can be described and classified into design concepts to provide guidance for the development of future UTM interfaces. We begin with a brief description of NASA's UTM project, followed by a description of the test range configuration related to a second development phase. We identified (post hoc) two classes in which the ground control stations could be grouped. This grouping was based on level of display integration. The analysis was exploratory and informal. It was conducted to compare ground stations across those two classes and against the aforementioned topics. Herein, we discuss the results.

unmanned traffic management↗
NASA NTRS2016

AirSTAR Hardware and Software Design for Beyond Visual Range Flight Research

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Airborne Subscale Transport Aircraft Research (AirSTAR) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) is a facility developed to study the flight dynamics of vehicles in emergency conditions, in support of aviation safety research. The system was upgraded to have its operational range significantly expanded, going beyond the line of sight of a ground-based pilot. A redesign of the airborne flight hardware was undertaken, as well as significant changes to the software base, in order to provide appropriate autonomous behavior in response to a number of potential failures and hazards. Ground hardware and system monitors were also upgraded to include redundant communication links, including ADS-B based position displays and an independent flight termination system. The design included both custom and commercially available avionics, combined to allow flexibility in flight experiment design while still benefiting from tested configurations in reversionary flight modes. A similar hierarchy was employed in the software architecture, to allow research codes to be tested, with a fallback to more thoroughly validated flight controls. As a remotely piloted facility, ground systems were also developed to ensure the flight modes and system state were communicated to ground operations personnel in real-time. Presented in this paper is a general overview of the concept of operations for beyond visual range flight, and a detailed review of the airborne hardware and software design. This discussion is held in the context of the safety and procedural requirements that drove many of the design decisions for the AirSTAR UAS Beyond Visual Range capability.

Laughter, Sean↗
NASA NTRS2017

DANTi: Detect and Avoid iN The Cockpit

Mid-air collision risk continues to be a concern for manned aircraft operations, especially near busy non-towered airports. The use of Detect and Avoid (DAA) technologies and draft standards developed for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), either alone or in combination with other collision avoidance technologies, may be useful in mitigating this collision risk for manned aircraft. This paper describes a NASA research effort known as DANTi (DAA iN The Cockpit), including the initial development of the concept of use, a software prototype, and results from initial flight tests conducted with this prototype. The prototype used a single Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) traffic sensor and the own aircraft's position, track, heading and air data information, along with NASA-developed DAA software to display traffic alerts and maneuver guidance to manned aircraft pilots on a portable tablet device. Initial flight tests with the prototype showed a successful DANTi proof-of-concept, but also demonstrated that the traffic separation parameter set specified in the RTCA SC-228 Phase I DAA MOPS may generate excessive false alerts during traffic pattern operations. Several parameter sets with smaller separation values were also tested in flight, one of which yielded more timely alerts for the maneuvers tested. Results from this study may further inform future DANTi efforts as well as Phase II DAA MOPS development.

Chamberlain, James↗
NASA NTRS2017

Technical Capability Level 2 Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) Flight Demonstration: Description and Analysis

NASA's UAS Traffic Management (UTM) project concluded its second flight demonstration activity in late October 2016. This activity demonstrated the capabilities and functionality incorporated into its Technical Capability Level 2 (TCL2) concept, which envisions future operations that are low density, capable of being performed over sparsely populated areas, and allow for a concurrent mix of longer duration, beyond visual-line-of-sight flights and shorter flights within visual-line-of-sight (VLOS). To incorporate these features into a flight demonstration, a scenario-based approach was taken to address different aspects of the TCL2 environment and to meet defined objectives. This paper will describe elements of how the flight activity was conducted and present analyses regarding UTM operations, system messages, and alerting as they pertained to meeting the demonstration objectives and shedding light on research questions and lessons learned.NASA was able to successfully demonstrate complex UTMoperations in a TCL 2 environment in collaboration withindustry partners and the Reno-Stead Airport UAS test range.A scenario-based approach to the demonstration provided arelevant means through which the key elements and objectivesof the test could be captured. Although issues were identifiedthrough the testing and feedback of test participants, theoverall results were in line with the overall UTM objective ofsafely enabling large-scale UAS operations in low altitudeairspace.

Homola, Jeffrey↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

UAS Pilot Performance Comparisons with Different Low Size, Weight and Power Sensor Ranges

The present study evaluated the performance of UAS pilots under four simulated low size, weight, and power (SwaP) sensor ranges: 1.5nmi, 2.0nmi, 2.5nmi, and 3.0nmi. Nine active-duty UAS pilots responded to scripted DAA conflicts against non-cooperative intruders while flying a simulated RQ-7 Shadow at varied speeds along a pre-filed flight path in Class E airspace. Findings revealed a linear effect of sensor range on alerting time and separation performance, with nearly every DAA well clear (DWC) violation and all Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) events occurring below 2.5nmi. Response time differences at these reduced ranges were negligible due to the high frequency of warning-level alerts that require an immediate response. Since caution alert duration was truncated to some degree by each tested declaration range, pilots were often unable to coordinate their avoidance maneuvers with ATC prior to their uploads. Nonetheless, the 2.5nmi range allowed minimum alerting times that were sufficient for acceptable pilot performance. These findings will inform DAA system requirements for UAS with alternative surveillance equipment and aircraft performance capabilities. Implications on DAA display and sensor requirements are discussed.

unmanned aircraft systems↗
NASA NTRS2020

UAS Pilot Performance Comparisons with Different Low Size, Weight and Power Sensor Ranges

The present study evaluated the performance of UAS pilots under four simulated low size, weight, and power (SwaP) sensor ranges: 1.5nmi, 2.0nmi, 2.5nmi, and 3.0nmi. Nine active-duty UAS pilots responded to scripted DAA conflicts against non-cooperative intruders while flying a simulated RQ-7 Shadow at varied speeds along a pre-filed flight path in Class E airspace. Findings revealed a linear effect of sensor range on alerting time and separation performance, with nearly every DAA well clear (DWC) violation and all Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) events occurring below 2.5nmi. Response time differences at these reduced ranges were negligible due to the high frequency of warning-level alerts that require an immediate response. Since caution alert duration was truncated to some degree by each tested declaration range, pilots were often unable to coordinate their avoidance maneuvers with ATC prior to their uploads. Nonetheless, the 2.5nmi range allowed minimum alerting times that were sufficient for acceptable pilot performance. These findings will inform DAA system requirements for UAS with alternative surveillance equipment and aircraft performance capabilities. Implications on DAA display and sensor requirements are discussed.

unmanned aircraft systems↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

UAS Pilot Performance Comparisons with Different Low Size, Weight and Power Sensor Ranges

The present study evaluated the performance of UAS pilots under four simulated low size, weight, and power (SwaP) sensor ranges: 1.5nmi, 2.0nmi, 2.5nmi, and 3.0nmi. Nine active-duty UAS pilots responded to scripted DAA conflicts against non-cooperative intruders while flying a simulated RQ-7 Shadow at varied speeds along a pre-filed flight path in Class E airspace. Findings revealed a linear effect of sensor range on alerting time and separation performance, with nearly every DAA well clear (DWC) violation and all Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) events occurring below 2.5nmi. Response time differences at these reduced ranges were negligible due to the high frequency of warning-level alerts that require an immediate response. Since caution alert duration was truncated to some degree by each tested declaration range, pilots were often unable to coordinate their avoidance maneuvers with ATC prior to their uploads. Nonetheless, the 2.5nmi range allowed minimum alerting times that were sufficient for acceptable pilot performance. The study findings will inform DAA system requirements for UAS with alternative surveillance equipment and aircraft performance capabilities. Implications on DAA display and sensor requirements are discussed.

unmanned aircraft systems↗
NASA NTRS2016

The First Government Sanctioned Delivery of Medical Supplies by Remotely Controlled Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)

The first government sanctioned delivery of medical supplies by UAS occurred at Wise, Virginia, on July 17, 2015. The "Let's Fly Wisely" event was a demonstration of the humanitarian use of UAS to facilitate delivery of medical supplies to remote or otherwise difficult-to-reach areas. The event was the result of coordinated efforts by a partnership which included the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Langley Research Center (LaRC), Virginia Polytechnic Institute, the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP), Flirtey Corporation, Lonesome Pine Airport, Remote Area Medical (RAM), Health Wagon, SEESPAN Aerial Interactive, Rx Partnership, and Wise County, Virginia. The historic event occurred during the annual Remote Area Medical clinic at the Wise County Fairgrounds. The medical supplies in small packages were delivered to the Wise County Fairgrounds from the Lonesome Pine Airport by UAS operated by Firtey. A larger supply of medical supplies were delivered to the Lonesome Pine Airport from the Tazewell County Airport by NASA Langley's SR22 UAS Surrogate Research aircraft. The UAS Surrogate aircraft was remotely controlled for most of the flight by a UAS Ground Control Station located at the Lonesome Pine Airport. The medical supplies were delivered from the UAS Surrogate to Flirtey for final delivery by Hex Multi-Rotor UAS in smaller packages and multiple trips to the fairgrounds. A Certificate of Authorization (COA) issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) designated the site as an authorized UAS test site. The paper will present additional details of the historic delivery of pharmaceuticals by UAS during the "Let's Fly Wisely" event. The paper will also provide details of NASA's SR22 UAS Surrogate Research aircraft. The UAS Surrogate was designed to investigate the procedures, aircraft sensors and other systems that may be required to allow Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to safely operate with manned aircraft in the National Airspace System (NAS).

Howell, Charles T., III↗
NASA NTRS2018

UAS-Based P-Band Signals of Opportunity for Remote Sensing of Snow and Root Zone Soil Moisture

We have developed the P-band Signals of Opportunity (SoOp) sensor based on the Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) to remotely sense Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) and Root Zone Soil Moisture (RZSM). The P-band UAS SoOp sensor for Hydrology (UASHydro) would operate on the S2 aircraft developed by Black Swift Technologies for sensing of SWE and RZSM with a spatial resolution of about 10m. Root-zone soil moisture and snow water storage in land are critical parameters of the water cycle. The long-term goal of our development would be to use small UAS to perform regional high resolution observation of two key hydrological measurements to improve the estimation of terrestrial water storage for water management, crop production and forecasts of natural hazard. The UASHydro concept utilizes passive receivers to detect the reflection of strong existing P-band radio signals at the 360-380 MHz band from geostationary Mobile Use Objective System (MUOS) communication satellites launched by the US Navy. The SWE remote sensing measurement principle using the P-band SoOp is based on the propagation delay (or phase change) of radio signals through the snowpack. The time delay of the reflected signal due to the snowpack with respect to snow-free conditions is directly proportional to the snowpack SWE, while the soil moisture can be retrieved from the reflectivity at the P-band frequencies for MUOS. We have been conducting ground-based campaigns to test the instrumentation and data processing methods at the Fraser Experimental Forest in Colorado since February 2016. The field campaign data has provided support to the measurement concept. To install the SoOp technologies on the UAS, a lightweight antenna has been built and interfaces with the S2 built by Black Swift Technologies have been completed. A set of flights have been planned starting April 2018 through the end of 2018 in Colorado.

Elston, Jack↗