The U.S. Navy has embarked on a groundbreaking collaboration with Texas A&M University to pioneer the development of fully autonomous Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft capable of landing on moving ship decks. The three-year project, funded by the Navy, aims to create a robust solution that could revolutionize the way aircraft land on naval vessels.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Hailey Servedio, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In a bid to adapt to the challenges posed by ship landings – one of the most complex maneuvers for Navy pilots – the project merges cutting-edge aircraft design with a powerful machine learning algorithm. This innovative approach could pave the way for the next generation of autonomous VTOL aircraft that are capable of navigating rough seas and landing on a constantly moving target.
Traditional ship landings by helicopters demand exceptional precision and skill from pilots. Unlike landing on a runway, the landing area of a ship is limited and perpetually swaying with the sea, introducing a multitude of variables such as gusty winds and low visibility.
To address these formidable challenges, the research team at Texas A&M is focusing on automating the landing process by emulating a pilot’s behavior. “When a helicopter pilot tries to land on a ship deck, they don’t actually look at the moving deck. If they look at the moving deck, it will disorient the pilot, so they are trained to look at a specialized equipment on the ship called the horizon bar, which is a green, lighted, gyro-stabilized strip that provides the pilot an artificial horizon,” explains Dr. Moble Benedict, associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M and the project’s principal investigator.
Rather than tracking the ship’s deck, as previous studies have attempted, this research seeks to mimic the pilot’s behavior by monitoring the horizon bar. The team is developing a reinforcement learning control algorithm that is so precise that it can account for changing conditions, including heavy winds and shifting courses.
Dr. Dileep Kalathil, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-principal investigator on the project, elaborates on the technology behind the initiative. “Reinforcement learning is a class of machine learning for developing the control algorithm for autonomous systems. We are developing a reinforcement learning control algorithm so precise that even if a vehicle is changing course or is in the presence of heavy winds, it can still track the horizon bar.”
The ultimate goal of this ambitious collaboration encompasses three crucial elements: the development of an aircraft capable of Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) – removing the need for traditional runways, optimizing cruise efficiency to enable extended flight durations, and ensuring the ability to safely and successfully land on the ever-moving decks of naval vessels.
Dr. Benedict, with his expertise in rotorcraft, is spearheading the design of VTOL aircraft concepts that are gust-tolerant and efficient. These concepts may even incorporate foldable wings to facilitate the transition from vertical flight to fixed-wing cruise. Wind tunnel testing, simulations, and flight tests will be conducted to analyze the performance and dynamics of these concepts.
On the other hand, Dr. Kalathil is leveraging his mastery of reinforcement learning to create an algorithm capable of adapting rapidly to real-time data and environmental factors. This adaptability is vital in addressing the unpredictable nature of rough seas, allowing the autonomous system to counteract specific conditions by utilizing data from onboard wind sensors.
The project not only addresses the simulation-to-reality gap faced by previous endeavors but also explores the possibility of using a collaborative console to control multiple unmanned aerial systems (UASs).
The Navy’s generous funding of this three-year venture highlights the importance of developing a reliable solution for automated VTOL aircraft ship landings. Dr. Benedict and Dr. Kalathil are excited to continue their interdisciplinary collaboration at Texas A&M, working toward the realization of autonomous VTOL aircraft capable of navigating the challenging conditions of naval ship landings.
As this groundbreaking project advances, it holds the potential to transform naval aviation, making ship landings safer, more efficient, and less reliant on human intervention, ultimately benefiting both the U.S. Navy and the broader aerospace industry.
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