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    1. Commercial Aerospace

    NASA selects Aurora Flight Sciences to develop robust flare lanner for manned and unmanned aircraft

    June 1, 2010
    CAMBRIDGE, Mass., 1 June 2010.  NASA officials tasked Aurora Flight Sciences engineers to develop the company's Flare Planner into a software system that can be incorporated into both manned and unmanned systems, and to demonstrate it in a hardware in-the-loop simulation environment, in preparation for follow-on flight testing in either a manned or unmanned test bed aircraft.
    Posted by John McHaleCAMBRIDGE, Mass., 1 June 2010.NASA officials tasked Aurora Flight Sciences engineers to develop the company's Flare Planner into a software system that can be incorporated into both manned and unmanned systems, and to demonstrate it in a hardware in-the-loop simulation environment, in preparation for follow-on flight testing in either a manned or unmanned test bed aircraft.The Flare Planner takes advantage of recent advances in control theory which allow for fast on-the-fly determination of appropriate control inputs for complex dynamic situations -- these methods efficiently generate flight paths that simultaneously satisfy vehicle performance limits, constraints, and touchdown criteria. Recent theoretical extensions by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), along with recent developments at Aurora, promise to make these landing policies not only more optimal, but better able to react to disturbances that require the execution of a contingency plan, company officials say. Robust flare planning has the potential to increase the reliability of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations, Aurora officials say. The largest fraction of incidents involving UAVs occurs during the landing phase of flight, and the most challenging maneuver during this phase is the landing flare. Conducting a safe flare maneuver -- especially in strong or gusty winds or if the vehicle is impaired -- can require use of different control surfaces in an unconventional and/or complex way. By addressing these challenges, "Aurora's new technology represents a critical step towards achieving the goal of a crash proof aircraft," says James Paduano, lead engineer for autonomy, controls, and estimation at Aurora’s R&D Center. During the Phase 2 effort, Aurora is teaming with Professor Emilio Frazzoli of the MIT Aerospace Robotics and Embedded Systems Laboratory.

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