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NASA NTRS2010

Multiple Kernel Learning for Heterogeneous Anomaly Detection: Algorithm and Aviation Safety Case Study

The world-wide aviation system is one of the most complex dynamical systems ever developed and is generating data at an extremely rapid rate. Most modern commercial aircraft record several hundred flight parameters including information from the guidance, navigation, and control systems, the avionics and propulsion systems, and the pilot inputs into the aircraft. These parameters may be continuous measurements or binary or categorical measurements recorded in one second intervals for the duration of the flight. Currently, most approaches to aviation safety are reactive, meaning that they are designed to react to an aviation safety incident or accident. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach based on the theory of multiple kernel learning to detect potential safety anomalies in very large data bases of discrete and continuous data from world-wide operations of commercial fleets. We pose a general anomaly detection problem which includes both discrete and continuous data streams, where we assume that the discrete streams have a causal influence on the continuous streams. We also assume that atypical sequence of events in the discrete streams can lead to off-nominal system performance. We discuss the application domain, novel algorithms, and also discuss results on real-world data sets. Our algorithm uncovers operationally significant events in high dimensional data streams in the aviation industry which are not detectable using state of the art methods

Das, Santanu↗
NASA NTRS2012

Scaling of Lift Degradation Due to Anti-Icing Fluids Based Upon the Aerodynamic Acceptance Test

In recent years, the FAA has worked with Transport Canada, National Research Council Canada (NRC) and APS Aviation, Inc. to develop allowance times for aircraft operations in ice-pellet precipitation. These allowance times are critical to ensure safety and efficient operation of commercial and cargo flights. Wind-tunnel testing with uncontaminated anti-icing fluids and fluids contaminated with simulated ice pellets had been carried out at the NRC Propulsion and Icing Wind Tunnel (PIWT) to better understand the flowoff characteristics and resulting aerodynamic effects. The percent lift loss on the thin, high-performance wing model tested in the PIWT was determined at 8 angle of attack and used as one of the evaluation criteria in determining the allowance times. Because it was unclear as to how performance degradations measured on this model were relevant to an actual airplane configuration, some means of interpreting the wing model lift loss was deemed necessary. This paper describes how the lift loss was related to the loss in maximum lift of a Boeing 737-200ADV airplane through the Aerodynamic Acceptance Test (AAT) performed for fluids qualification. A loss in maximum lift coefficient of 5.24 percent on the B737-200ADV airplane (which was adopted as the threshold in the AAT) corresponds to a lift loss of 7.3 percent on the PIWT model at 8 angle of attack. There is significant scatter in the data used to develop the correlation related to varying effects of the anti-icing fluids that were tested and other factors. A statistical analysis indicated the upper limit of lift loss on the PIWT model was 9.2 percent. Therefore, for cases resulting in PIWT model lift loss from 7.3 to 9.2 percent, extra scrutiny of the visual observations is required in evaluating fluid performance with contamination.

Broeren, Andy P.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Review of the Aerodynamic Acceptance Test and Application to Anti-Icing Fluids Testing in the NRC Propulsion and Icing Wind Tunnel

In recent years, the FAA has worked with Transport Canada, National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and APS Aviation, Inc. to develop allowance times for aircraft operations in ice-pellet precipitation. These allowance times are critical to ensure safety and efficient operation of commercial and cargo flights. Wind-tunnel testing with uncontaminated anti-icing fluids and fluids contaminated with simulated ice-pellets had been carried out at the NRC Propulsion and Icing Wind Tunnel (PIWT) to better understand the flowoff characteristics and resulting aerodynamic effects. The percent lift loss on the thin, high-performance wing model tested in the PIWT was determined at 8 angle of attack and used as one of the evaluation criteria in determining the allowance times. Because it was unclear as to how performance degradations measured on this model were relevant to an actual airplane configuration, some means of interpreting the wing model lift loss was deemed necessary. In this report, the lift loss was related to the loss in maximum lift of a Boeing 737-200ADV airplane through the Aerodynamic Acceptance Test (AAT) performed for fluids qualification. This report provides a review of the research basis of the AAT in order to understand how this correlation was applied. A loss in maximum lift coefficient of 5.24 percent on the B737-200ADV airplane (which was adopted as the threshold in the AAT) corresponds to a lift loss of 7.3 percent on the PIWT model at 8 degrees angle of attack. There is significant scatter in the data used to develop the correlation related to varying effects of the various antiicing fluids that were tested and other factors. A statistical analysis indicated the upper limit of lift loss on the PIWT model was 9.2 percent. Therefore, for cases resulting in PIWT model lift loss from 7.3 to 9.2 percent, extra scrutiny of the visual observations is required in evaluating fluid performance with contamination. Additional research may result in future changes to this correlation.

Broeren, Andy P.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Scaling of Lift Degradation Due to Anti-Icing Fluids Based Upon the Aerodynamic Acceptance Test

In recent years, the FAA has worked with Transport Canada, National Research Council Canada (NRC) and APS Aviation, Inc. to develop allowance times for aircraft operations in ice-pellet precipitation. These allowance times are critical to ensure safety and efficient operation of commercial and cargo flights. Wind-tunnel testing with uncontaminated anti-icing fluids and fluids contaminated with simulated ice pellets had been carried out at the NRC Propulsion and Icing Wind Tunnel (PIWT) to better understand the flow-off characteristics and resulting aerodynamic effects. The percent lift loss on the thin, high-performance wing model tested in the PIWT was determined at 8 deg. angle of attack and used as one of the evaluation criteria in determining the allowance times. Because it was unclear as to how performance degradations measured on this model were relevant to an actual airplane configuration, some means of interpreting the wing model lift loss was deemed necessary. This paper describes how the lift loss was related to the loss in maximum lift of a Boeing 737-200ADV airplane through the Aerodynamic Acceptance Test (AAT) performed for fluids qualification. A loss in maximum lift coefficient of 5.24% on the B737-200ADV airplane (which was adopted as the threshold in the AAT) corresponds to a lift loss of 7.3% on the PIWT model at 8 deg. angle of attack. There is significant scatter in the data used to develop the correlation related to varying effects of the anti-icing fluids that were tested and other factors. A statistical analysis indicated the upper limit of lift loss on the PIWT model was 9.2%. Therefore, for cases resulting in PIWT model lift loss from 7.3% to 9.2%, extra scrutiny of the visual observations is required in evaluating fluid performance with contamination.

Broeren, Andy↗
NASA NTRS2012

A Systematic Approach for Real-Time Operator Functional State Assessment

A task overload condition often leads to high stress for an operator, causing performance degradation and possibly disastrous consequences. Just as dangerous, with automated flight systems, an operator may experience a task underload condition (during the en-route flight phase, for example), becoming easily bored and finding it difficult to maintain sustained attention. When an unexpected event occurs, either internal or external to the automated system, the disengaged operator may neglect, misunderstand, or respond slowly/inappropriately to the situation. In this paper, we discuss an approach for Operator Functional State (OFS) monitoring in a typical aviation environment. A systematic ground truth finding procedure has been designed based on subjective evaluations, performance measures, and strong physiological indicators. The derived OFS ground truth is continuous in time compared to a very sparse estimation of OFS based on an expert review or subjective evaluations. It can capture the variations of OFS during a mission to better guide through the training process of the OFS assessment model. Furthermore, an OFS assessment model framework based on advanced machine learning techniques was designed and the systematic approach was then verified and validated with experimental data collected in a high fidelity Boeing 737 simulator. Preliminary results show highly accurate engagement/disengagement detection making it suitable for real-time applications to assess pilot engagement.

Zhang, Guangfan↗
NASA NTRS2013

Simplified Aircraft-Based Paired Approach: Concept Definition and Initial Analysis

Simplified Aircraft-based Parallel Approach (SAPA) is an advanced concept proposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to support dependent parallel approach operations to runways with lateral spacing closer than 2500 ft. At the request of the FAA, NASA performed an initial assessment of the potential performance and feasibility of the SAPA concept, including developing and assessing an operational implementation of the concept and conducting a Monte Carlo wake simulation study to examine the longitudinal spacing requirements. The SAPA concept was shown to have significant operational advantages in supporting the pairing of aircraft with dissimilar final approach speeds. The wake simulation study showed that support for dissimilar final approach speeds could be significantly enhanced through the use of a two-phased altitudebased longitudinal positioning requirement, with larger longitudinal positioning allowed for higher altitudes out of ground effect and tighter longitudinal positioning defined for altitudes near and in ground effect. While this assessment is preliminary and there are a number of operational issues still to be examined, it has shown the basic SAPA concept to be technically and operationally feasible.

Johnson, Sally C.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Development of Increasingly Autonomous Traffic Data Manager Using Pilot Relevancy and Ranking Data

NASA's Safe Autonomous Systems Operations (SASO) project goal is to define and safely enable all future airspace operations by justifiable and optimal autonomy for advanced air, ground, and connected capabilities. This work showcases how Increasingly Autonomous Systems (IAS) could create operational transformations beneficial to the enhancement of civil aviation safety and efficiency. One such IAS under development is the Traffic Data Manager (TDM). This concept is a prototype 'intelligent party-line' system that would declutter and parse out non-relevant air traffic, displaying only relevant air traffic to the aircrew in a digital data communications (Data Comm) environment. As an initial step, over 22,000 data points were gathered from 31 Airline Transport Pilots to train the machine learning algorithms designed to mimic human experts and expertise. The test collection used an analog of the Navigation Display. Pilots were asked to rate the relevancy of the displayed traffic using an interactive tablet application. Pilots were also asked to rank the order of importance of the information given, to better weight the variables within the algorithm. They were also asked if the information given was enough data, and more importantly the "right" data to best inform the algorithm. The paper will describe the findings and their impact to the further development of the algorithm for TDM and, in general, address the issue of how can we train supervised machine learning algorithms, critical to increasingly autonomous systems, with the knowledge and expertise of expert human pilots.

Le Vie, Lisa R.↗
NASA NTRS2018

NASA SPoRT JPSS PG Activities in Alaska

SPoRT (NASA's Short-term Prediction Research and Transition Center) has collaboratively worked with Alaska WFOs (Weather Forecast Offices) to introduce RGB (Red/Green/Blue false color image) imagery to prepare for NOAA-20 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, JPSS (Joint Polar Satellite System) series-20 satellite) VIIRS (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite) and improve forecasting aviation-related hazards. Last R2O/O2R (Research-to-Operations/Operations-to-Research) steps include incorporating NOAA-20 VIIRS in RGB suite and fully transitioning client-side RGB processing to GINA (Geographic Information Network of Alaska) and Alaska Region. Alaska Region WFOs have been part of the successful R2O/O2R story to assess the use of NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service) Snowfall Rate product in operations. SPoRT introduced passive microwave rain rate and IMERG (Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for GPM (Global Precipitation Measurement)) (IMERG) to Alaska WFOs for use in radar-void areas and assessing flooding potential. SPoRT has been part of the multi-organization collaborative effort to introduce Gridded NUCAPS (NOAA Unique CrIS/ATMS (Crosstrack Infrared Sounder/Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder) Processing System) to the Anchorage CWSU (Center Weather Service Unit) to assess Cold Air Aloft events, [and as part of NOAA's PG (Product Generation) effort].

Berndt, Emily↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Creating Formal Characterizations of Routine Contingency Management in Commercial Aviation

The identification, modelling, and analysis of root causes of accidents and incidents dominate conventional safety management approaches. However, the effect of humans’ safety-producing behavior on the overall resilience of the system is often neglected. Additionally, emerging aviation markets are giving rise to concepts of operation, such as urban air mobility and optionally piloted air cargo operations, that are leading to a shift in locus of control between humans and automation. Without an understanding of the human contribution to safety, it is difficult to assess the effects of these novel role allocations on overall system safety. In this work, safety-producing behaviors are identified and abstracted into resilient performance strategies. Production rules that encapsulate these strategies are then generated and classified in the Soar cognitive architecture. The strategies are then applied to a remotely-operated air cargo example to demonstrate how safe learning is facilitated. The learned rules and strategies are then formally verified.

Safety Critical Systems↗
NASA NTRS1976

Flight evaluation of two-segment approaches using area navigation guidance equipment

A two-segment noise abatement approach procedure for use on DC-8-61 aircraft in air carrier service was developed and evaluated. The approach profile and procedures were developed in a flight simulator. Full guidance is provided throughout the approach by a Collins Radio Company three-dimensional area navigation (RNAV) system which was modified to provide the two-segment approach capabilities. Modifications to the basic RNAV software included safety protection logic considered necessary for an operationally acceptable two-segment system. With an aircraft out of revenue service, the system was refined and extensively flight tested, and the profile and procedures were evaluated by representatives of the airlines, airframe manufacturers, the Air Line Pilots Association, and the Federal Aviation Adminstration. The system was determined to be safe and operationally acceptable. It was then placed into scheduled airline service for an evaluation during which 180 approaches were flown by 48 airline pilots. The approach was determined to be compatible with the airline operational environment, although operation of the RNAV system in the existing terminal area air traffic control environment was difficult.

Schwind, G. K.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing a Motion-Based System for Lunar Vehicle Handling Qualities Testing

— Motion and visual cue influences are critical in any simulator system, as they impact multiple aspects of the human’s neurovestibular and visual systems. Cues of real motion proceeds to the brain before cues of visual change. It is important therefore for simulator motion cues to exist and to match those realistically with those of the real vehicle to provide transferable training of the activity for operations. The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine (1989)[1] stated that motion platforms are the only simulation devices capable of fully stimulating the body motion sensors. They confirmed that motion platforms can impart accelerations to the whole body and therefore exercise the automatic motion feedback-loop that operators are used to. With both visual and motion cues handling the vehicle becomes more realistic. Strachan (2019)[1] confirms motion cueing from a well set-up motion platform has been found to be important especially in conditions such as night or reduced visibility where motion cues may be more relied upon. As of this writing, the only lunar rover motion simulator is housed at the General Motors (GM) Milford Proving Ground, which only simulates the motions of a traditional car. A NASA Test Team proposed to complete a motion-based simulation system for NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) which resides at Johnson Space Center’s Systems Engineering Simulator facility. This activity integrated existing fixed base simulation capabilities with a newly procured six-degree of freedom motion base platform for the design, development, evaluation, and training associated with the LTV project. This would incorporate a South Pole Lunar virtual reality simulation using Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter 5m/pixel high-resolution imagery and Unreal 5.2 Virtual Shadow Maps, combined with a virtual reality (VR) headset, integrated within a rover cockpit on a Mikrolar Motion Platform for evaluating human performance and vehicle handling qualities for concept roving vehicle designs. The motion-based system received its Human Rating Certification on March 2023. To begin testing the new facility, a preliminary handling qualities study was conducted. The objectives were to determine if there is a correlation amongst three handling quality methods of performance for a lunar vehicle and to understand the effects of a simulated 1/6-g loads and visuals with a motion platform on the operator while in a 1-g physical environment. The capability this system provides directly benefits the NASA’s Extravehicular Activity and Human Surface Mobility Program and NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate in evaluating the driving qualities of vehicle concepts, human performance related to the operating of a lunar surface vehicle, and assessment of suit related driving impacts. It would also provide direct operational benefit by providing a first-in class and unique simulation platform for the lunar astronaut training curriculum. The empirical knowledge of rover and human performance on this scale is paramount as there is currently no other lunar surface simulator with these capabilities. The result of this study ensures a broadly applicable method of testing for shirtsleeve, unpressurized and pressurized suited rover handling qualities.

Test Track↗
NASA NTRS2013

NASA Activity Update for the 2013 Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (UVSI) Yearbook

This year s report offers a high level perspective on some of the UAS related activities in which NASA is involved, both internal and external to the agency. Internally, NASA issued UAS operational policy on certification of NASA UAS and aircrew. A team of NASA UAS experts and operators analyzed all current procedures and best practices to design the policy. An update to the agencies Aircraft Operations Management Manual incorporated a new chapter to address UAS planning, preflight operations, flight operations, flight crew requirements, airworthiness and flight safety reviews. NASA UAS are classified into three categories based on weight and airspeed. Aircrews, including observers, are classified by how they interface with the UAS, and the policy defines qualifications, training, and currency. The NASA flight readiness approval process identifies risks and mitigations in order to reduce the likelihood and/or consequence of the risk to an acceptable level. The UAS operations process incorporates all aspects of airworthiness, flight standards and range safety exactly the same processes used for NASA manned aircraft operations. NASA has two internal organizations that routinely operate UAS. The Science Mission Directorate utilizes UAS as part of its Airborne Science Program and is the most frequent operator of NASA UAS in both national and international airspace. The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate conducts UAS flight operations in addition to conducting research important to the UAS community. This past year the Science Mission Directorate supported the Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentimental (HS3) Mission with two NASA Global Hawk platforms. HS3 is a five-year mission specifically targeted to investigate the processes that underlie hurricane formation. During the 2012 portion of this mission the Global Hawk overflew hurricanes Leslie and Nadine in the Atlantic Ocean completing 6 flights and accumulating more than 148 flight hours. Another multi-year mission was initiated last year when the Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) UAS began surveying faults in California s Surprise Valley. A team of scientists and engineers from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), NASA Ames Research Center, Central Washington University, and Carnegie Mellon University will measure magnetic fields using ground surveys and the SIERRA to map the geophysics below the surface of Surprise Valley. The data collected will be used to generate 3D maps of the geophysical data of the area. The Aeronautics Mission Directorate continues its collaboration with Boeing to conduct UAS flight operations of the X-48C, a modified version of the X-48B originally built by Cranfield Aerospace, United Kingdom. The Aeronautics Mission Directorate utilizes vehicles of this size for a wide variety of research studies. Most of these operations are conducted within restricted airspace. The Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate also sponsors the UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS) Project, which is working in close cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address critical challenges associated with routine UAS operations in civil airspace. The project is focused on separation assurance and collision avoidance systems and algorithms, command and control for non-military operations including spectrum allocation requirements, human system interaction issues, and safety and certification topics.

Bauer, Jeffrey E.↗
NASA NTRS1950

Investigation of Altitude Ignition, Acceleration, and Steady-State Operation with a Single Combustor of a J47 Turbojet Engine

An investigation was conducted with a single combustor from a J47 turbojet engine using weathered aviation gasoline and several spark-plug modifications to determine altitude ignition, acceleration, and steady state operating characteristics. Satisfactory ignition was obtained with two modifications of the original opposite-polarity spark plug up to and including an altitude of 40,003 feet at conditions simulating equilibrium windmilling of the engine at a flight speed of 400 miles per hour. At a simulated altitude of 30,000 feet, satisfactory ignition was obtained over a range of simulated engine speeds. No significant effect of fuel temperature on ignition limits was observed over a range of fuel temperatures from 80 deg to -52 deg F. At an altitude of 30,000 feet, the excess temperature rise available for acceleration at low engine speeds was limited by the ability of the combustor to produce temperature rise, whereas at high engine speeds the maximum allowable turbine-inlet temperature became the restricting factor. Altitude operational limits increased from about 51,500 feet at 55 percent of rated engine speed to about 64,500 feet at 85 percent of rated speed. Combustion efficiencies varied from 59.0 to 92.6 percent over the range investigated and decreased with a decrease in engine speed and with an increase in altitude; higher efficiencies would have been obtained if lower altitudes had been investigated. Comparisons were made of the combustion efficiencies of weathered aviation gasoline and MIL-F-5616 fuel at altitudes of 30,000 and 40,000 feet. Combustion efficiencies obtained with MIL-F-5616 fuel were 8 percent higher at rated engine speed and 14 percent lower at 55 percent of rated speed than those obtained with weathered aviation gasoline.

Cook, William P.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

SPHINX: An SEP Model Validation Infrastructure developed through Community Challenges and the SEP Scoreboards

Solar Energetic Particle (SEP) events are interesting from a scientific perspective as they are the product of a broad set of physical processes from the corona out through the extent of the heliosphere, and provide insight into processes of particle acceleration and transport that are widely applicable in astrophysics. From the operations perspective, SEP events pose a radiation hazard for aviation, electronics in space, and human space exploration, in particular for missions outside of the Earth’s protective magnetosphere including to the Moon and Mars (Whitman et al 2022). For these reasons, SEP modelers have developed a rich and diverse set of models with a wide variety of aims. Some models probe the basic physics at the heart of particle acceleration and transport. Others produce fast statistical forecasts or employ disruptive new techniques like Machine Learning with the goal to assist end users in making operational decisions. To enable a consistent and quantitative understanding of SEP model performance, a generalized, automated validation infrastructure, called SPHINX, is being developed at NASA SRAG in close collaboration with NASA CCMC, NASA M2M, NOAA SWPC, and BIRA-IASB. This infrastructure has been built up through a multi-year community challenge. Starting in 2018 at the SHINE workshop, an effort was launched through SHINE, ISWAT, and ESWW to encourage quantitative, comprehensive, and consistent validation of SEP models. This effort has defined a set of challenge SEP events with the aim of generating quantitative comparisons between forecasts and observations and a set of challenge “non-events” to assess false alarms. In 2023, these challenge lists have been extended to statistically significant numbers with a prescribed set of rules for producing forecasts and supported through the dedicated SEPVAL working meetings. The participation of the research community has allowed the infrastructure to validate all the types of outputs being produced by SEP models. In parallel, the SPHINX code is being applied to real time forecasts submitted to the SEP Scoreboards, ensuring that the validation infrastructure can interpret forecasts produced in an operational scenario and provide metrics meaningful for operations. Upon completion, SPHINX and its interactive user interface, SPHINX-Web, will be made available for public use.

space weather↗
NASA NTRS1971

Ground noise measurements during landing, take-off, and flyby operations of a four-engine turbopropeller STOL airplane

Noise measurements were obtained for a four-engine turbopropeller STOL airplane during a Federal Aviation Administration flight evaluation program at the National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center. These noise measurements involved landing-approach, takeoff-climbout, and flyby operations of the airplane. A total of 13 measuring positions were used to define the noise characteristics around a simulated STOL port. The results are presented in the form of both physical and subjective measurements. An appendix is included to present tabulated values of various subjective reaction units which may be significant for the planning and operation of STOL ports. The main source of noise produced by this vehicle was found to be the propeller, and noise levels decrease generally in accordance with the inverse-distance law for distances up to about 457 meters. For similar slant ranges, somewhat lower noise levels were experienced during flyby than during takeoff or landing.

Hilton, D. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Initial and Mid-Term Air Traffic Procedures for Urban Air Mobility Operations

Urban air mobility (UAM) operations are expected to expand in scale over the next several years as novel aircraft types, including electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, are certified and begin operations. These new aircraft may increase safety, decrease noise, and lower operating costs compared with helicopters, allowing them to operate in ways existing aircraft do not. It is vital that these expanded operations are compatible with and do not disrupt existing operations or the air traffic management system. To study the ways in which scaled UAM operations can best integrate in the national airspace system, NASA and Joby Aviation partnered to conduct a high-fidelity air traffic controller-in-the-loop study. Building on air traffic procedures used to manage high tempo operations in other parts of the airspace, new procedures, routes, and communications protocols were developed and tested by retired controllers in NASA’s Future Flight Central tower simulation facility. In addition, new cooperative airspace constructs in the form of corridors were developed to understand their potential contributions to even greater scales of operation. The controllers managed traffic scenarios in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field airports consisting of fleets of up to 100 UAM aircraft operating alongside traditional traffic . Metrics for air traffic controller workload, duration of communications, departure delays, and other measures of allowable aircraft throughput were collected. The analysis indicates that using today’s procedures for initial UAM operations under nominal conditions could enable up to 40 operations per hour to an airport’s central terminal area if that involved crossing a runway and up to 55operations per hour if reaching the central terminal did not involve crossing a runway. Operations at these tempos did not delay or otherwise interfere with simulated runway traffic and were rated acceptable by the air traffic controllers. The new corridor constructs dramatically lowered controller workload in certain circumstances, suggesting they may be effective in further increasing the allowable scale of operations.

Urban Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Initial and Mid-Term Air Traffic Procedures for Urban Air Mobility

Urban air mobility (UAM) operations are expected to expand in scale over the next several years as novel aircraft types, including electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, are certified and begin operations. These new aircraft may increase safety, decrease noise, and lower operating costs compared with helicopters, allowing them to operate in ways existing aircraft do not. It is vital that these expanded operations are compatible with and do not disrupt existing operations or the air traffic management system. To study the ways in which scaled UAM operations can best integrate in the national airspace system, NASA and Joby Aviation partnered to conduct a high-fidelity air traffic controller-in-the-loop study. Building on air traffic procedures used to manage high tempo operations in other parts of the airspace, new procedures, routes, and communications protocols were developed and tested by retired controllers in NASA’s Future Flight Central tower simulation facility. In addition, new cooperative airspace constructs in the form of corridors were developed to understand their potential contributions to even greater scales of operation. The controllers managed traffic scenarios in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Dallas Love Field airports consisting of fleets of up to 100 UAM aircraft operating alongside traditional traffic. Metrics for air traffic controller workload, duration of communications, departure delays, and other measures of allowable aircraft throughput were collected. The analysis indicates that using today’s procedures for initial UAM operations under nominal conditions could enable up to 40 operations per hour to an airport’s central terminal area if that involved crossing a runway and up to 55 operations per hour if reaching the central terminal did not involve crossing a runway. Operations at these tempos did not delay or otherwise interfere with simulated runway traffic and were rated acceptable by the air traffic controllers. The new corridor constructs dramatically lowered controller workload in certain circumstances, suggesting they may be effective in further increasing the allowable scale of operations.

Advanced Air Mobility↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

State of the Art and Practice for Equity in Urban Air Mobility

Traditionally, new modes of transportation in the United States have benefited upper social classes at the expense of underrepresented and lower socioeconomic classes. Several recent studies in transportation have explored this disparity, and research has highlighted factors that contribute to transportation equity. In this effort, we will examine this previous work as it applies to the broader, current transportation system. We will use our literature search to highlight and educate the current emerging aviation stakeholders on equity strategies that are directly applicable to these novel operations. We will also use our literature research to make informed recommendations for experiments and data collection that will increase our understanding about how these new aviation concepts can be encouraged to provide equity as an emergent property.

transportation equity↗