Analysis of future UAV missions in a heterogeneous airspace

The Scope of this project will be to identify and analyze the future usage of these new air vehicles. A special focus shall be given on the required data exchange between the UVAs, the UTM and their operators.

Development of an UAV simulation environment

The aim of this thesis is to develop and implement a simulation environment, where different types of UAVs and their missions can be simulated simultaneously.

At the Institute of Flight Systems and Automatic Control, a new flight simulator is being developed and built for research on future flight deck concepts. The purpose of this simulator is to evaluate future concepts and technologies. Eventually, the simulator will be used as a research-, demonstration, and evaluation platform. In the scope of this project a number of student theses and projects (ADPs & ARPs) will be available over the next months, focused on development and construction of the simulator.

Aircraft manufacturers and airlines have long been concerned with the question of how future flight decks should be designed. Against the background of so-called Reduced Crew Operations as well as increasing automation, the role, tasks and responsibilities of future pilots will change fundamentally: the pilot becomes a “mission manager” and supervisor. In order to actively involve the pilots during the flight in the future flight deck, tasks such as those of today's Airline Operations Center (AOC) could be assumed. This is to be investigated in this thesis.

In the flight mechanics lab (FMP), students can practically apply the theoretical knowledge acquired during the lectures on Flight Performance (FM 1) and Flight Dynamics (FM 2). For this purpose flight tests are carried out with a motor glider at the airport in Griesheim. In addition, a simulator course is held in the institute's own Diamond DA-40 simulator. For this simulator, a module is to be developed within the scope of a thesis project, with which flight performance and flight characteristics can be determined and displayed in real time.

To integrate future UAVs into non segregated airspace they must fulfill the authorities’ strong safety standards. In this context the FSR investigates the availability and system safety of electromechanical actuators (EMAs), which are considered as safety critical, since used for control surface actuation. The remaining useful lifetime of these components mainly depends on the UAV‘s overall usage and the aerodynamic loads.

Today's aircraft cockpits are the result of a century-long, evolutionary, development process. In this complex environment, two pilots are responsible for safe and efficient flight conduction as of today. Subject of current research are Reduced Crew Operations, the reduction of crew size down to a single pilot. Consequently, the design of the cockpit, the interfaces and the tasks and responsibilities of the remaining pilot will change.

Besides the lectures “flight mechanics”, the Institute of Flight Systems and Automatic Control (FSR) offers a practical course „flight mechanics lab” every summer semester. In this course, students can apply the theoretical knowledge practically. Each student has the opportunity to take part in a test flight. For these flights and to obtain flight data, FSR develops and operates measuring equipment. To support the flight mechanics lab, FSR is now looking for a student assistant.

Further Development of a Reduced Crew Cockpit Simulator

To support research in the realm of Reduced Crew Operations, an additional flight simulator is being developed and built at the Institute of Flight Systems and Automatic Control. The primary purpose of this research and demonstration simulator is to test and evaluate future operational concepts and technologies.

Conceptual Design and Implementation of a Trajectory Protection System

In future air traffic flights will be carried along four dimensional trajectories, where advanced flight management systems (FMS) will plan and monitor the flight. At FSR such an FMS is being developed and evaluated. The scope of this thesis is to design, implement and evaluate a Trajectory Protection System (TPS) for FSRs advanced FMS. The TPS will evaluate given trajectories regarding the feasibility of their execution.