Flying Cars, Finally

 Since the beginnings of science fiction and the automotive revolution, we've been promised flying cars. They've been a staple of everything from movies like Blade Runner and The Sixth Element to video games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Cloudpunk. And that's where they've mostly stayed: in the realm of fiction. 

But some manufacturers are trying to change that. 

Urban Air Mobility 

This is the Airbus NextGen, an Urban Air Mobility (UAM) vehicle that is still in the concept stage. 

It looks more like a tiny airplane than a flying car, but Airbus hopes that this is the future of transport. This fixed-wing, eight (yes, eight) propeller four-seater is an electric VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) craft designed for maximum stability and maneuverability in close quarters. This may be where the future of urban transport is going. 

But there are many obstacles in the way. 

Close Quarters Flight

Those obstacles are literally buildings. The flying cars in movies and video games work well because special effects don't have to account for the laws of physics and the behavior of craft in turbulent air. They don't have to account for the differences of the effects of rotor wash when near a building and when in open space. The flying cars in movies magically float on rails and jets. The flying cars we're trying to build utilize propellers that create all kinds of turbulence. It takes a special kind of pilot to be able to handle all these variables. 

Which may lead to the pilots not being human. 

UAS - The UAM Answer? 

UAS stands for "unmanned aerial system", and it may be the answer to the urban air mobility issue. Asking a human pilot to account for air dynamics, tight flight corridors, other vehicles, and buildings everywhere is a lot and may be overwhelming. However, asking an AI to handle these myriad variables may not be too much. Current commercial airplanes mostly fly themselves, with electronic brains handling a bulk of what human pilots were once asked to do. Perhaps the same principle can be applied to UAMs, in order to make low-altitude city flight safer. 

A Question of Control 

The problem is, there will be more than one UAM vehicle in the sky. If UAMs take off the way Airbus and other companies hope it does, then the sky will be filled with UAMs, many of them autonomous. How do we keep them from crashing into each other? 

The answer - maybe - is UTM, or unmanned aircraft systems traffic management. This system, currently still in an embryonic stage, is a "traffic management ecosystem" designed to control UAS traffic in much the same way that human controllers in control towers manage human-piloted aircraft. If UAMs are to be effective, a system like this would have to be in place. A good UTM would keep the UASs in their own lanes and out of the ways of each other and of human-piloted craft. No such system exists yet as there is no need for it; but if a viable unmanned UAM enters the market, that will quickly change. 

Welcome to the NAS

The NAS is the national aerospace system. According to FAA.gov, it is "...a network of both controlled and uncontrolled airspace, both domestic and oceanic". It is to aircraft what the national road system is to ground based traffic. And, at some point, it will have to integrate UASs. 

This poses a challenge on many fronts. Which UASs should be regulated? All of them, or just the bigger ones? And how will control be imposed? Can a human air traffic controller command and direct an AI-controlled craft? Commercial UASs are little more than toys now, but that may change significantly in the future, especially if some UASs become used for human transport. 

The FAA Next Gen Initiative 

Airbus isn't the only organization with a "next gen" project. The FAA has its own Next Gen initiative, which it says will cost billions and be a complete overhaul of the NAS. New towers, new runways, new ways of doing things. And with it, perhaps a new recognition of the role UASs will play in the nation's aviation future. 

To be clear, the front page of the FAA's Next Gen site (https://www.faa.gov/nextgen) doesn't mention UASs, but the FAA can't ignore this fast-rising component of aviation vehicles. Integration of unmanned craft will have to take place. The UTM mentioned two paragraphs before will be crucial in UASs playing nice alongside their manned counterparts. 

DSA - A Critical Safety Measure 

DSA stands for detect, sense, and avoid. It's the aviation version of the sensors present in most new cars today, which sense nearby vehicles and take action on their own to avoid and prevent collisions. 

DSA technology is critical for UASs to be integrated into the NAS. The biggest fear many people have of UAS flight is collisions. A collision in an urban environment could be especially dangerous, because it would hurt not only the people in the crafts but anyone standing below them. A strong, effective, well-developed DSA system is key to preventing such tragedies. 

Loss Link - The Ultimate Nightmare 

DSA becomes crucial when you consider the biggest nightmare scenario: a large UAS losing its tether to its home station and flying blind as a result, potentially causing a devastating accident. 

At that point, once the connection is lost, the DSA proves its worth by avoiding collisions, locating a safe landing spot, and lowering the craft to the ground. 

It will take several demonstrations of this safety feature for UASs to be accepted into mainstream traffic, and it will come at the expense of lots of frightened (but hopefully unharmed) people. No one wants to be in a UAS that loses its link, but their survival will be the key to more people being willing to risk travel on a UAS. 

The Human Factor 

Despite all the talk of automation, humans are still the most important part of this equation, especially when it comes to the loss link. 

The last thing UAS operators can do when their craft loses its link is sit back, do nothing, and assume the computer will handle everything. Artificial intelligence is pretty good, but not so good that it can replace a human pilot. In a loss link, the pilots will have to scramble to reconnect the craft to their control system. On the ground, people's reaction to an out-of-control UAS will go a long way towards determining how many people get hurt during a loss link event and why. 

In other words, the ultimate safety of UAS passengers, the ultimate integration of UAS into the NAS, and the ultimate success of the NextGen program all reside with the people who tirelessly work on them. UASs may be machines, but the puppet masters who pull their strings are most assuredly human. 

The Lost Hiker

 The mission: find a missing hiker in Yosemite National Park. 

The UAS (unmanned aerial system): a custom-assembled rotary craft designed for long range flight. 

The result: fire located, wildlife spotted, but hiker still missing. 

Let's get into the details. 

This week's ERAU assignment required us to build and launch a UAS in a simple but interesting simulator. There were three missions available, one of which was to find a missing hiker. I picked that one as it had the clearest objective, and built a UAS suitable for the task. 

For the task, I selected the Gannet helicopter, a fictitious chassis based on real-world models: 

The Gannet is a big bird with a four-stroke gas engine and the ability to carry a relatively heavy payload. I used that payload to equip it with a high-resolution camera, dipole antenna for extra control range, and as much fuel as it could carry. I used the GCS (ground control system) trailer to control the craft, as it had the longest range and most electronic capability. The focus of the mission was longevity and range. I wanted to fly as long as possible and as far as possible in search of the missing hiker. 

Alas, I came up empty. Looking for a lone hiker in that large swath of land was very much like looking for a needle in a haystack. I flew to the site of a fire, thinking the hiker had started it to signal rescuers, but when I got there, I saw nothing except a deer and a bear. On a second run, I searched the river bank, thinking the hiker may have gone there to replenish his water supply, but still nothing. I'll go back a third time, though. I want to finish the mission. 

One thing was clear, however: the Gannet was absolutely up to the task of looking for the hiker. I saved the configuration to use on similar missions later. 

 

Unmanned Systems: A Very Human Problem

 What do you think of when you think of unmanned systems?

Do you think of a Roomba, carefully vacuuming while its master is out of the house?

Do you think of Alexa, the Amazon-powered speaker that tells bad jokes and helps you build shopping lists?

Do you think of Tesla cars, driving themselves on public roads?

Or do you think of Predator drones, spying on enemy fighters in foreign lands?

There’s a good chance that you thought of all these things. And there’s also a good chance that your mind went straight to the technological aspect of these devices, and completely bypassed the human element. That’s normal; humans have always been fascinated with technology.

However, to truly understand these systems, we need to understand the human factor. We need to understand the people who make these machines, who operate these machines, and who are affected by these machines.

Unmanned systems are becoming more commonplace every day. Camera drones are a common sight at NFL games. Online retailers continue to test self-propelled delivery devices. Chatbots hold conversations through an ever-evolving understanding of language. Our world is becoming more and more automated.

However, these systems are not created in a vacuum. They are created by human beings, and so carry the imperfections of their creators. They interact and behave in unexpected ways. Sometimes, they fall short of their intended goals. At other times, they far exceed the imaginations of their creators.

And they all leave an indelible imprint on the end user, a reminder that technology is always moving forward.

The goal of this blog is to bring those human factors to light and to help close the gap between human and machine. Unmanned systems are here to stay. It benefits us all to help understand how to interact and share space with these ever-evolving machines.