THE PROPOSED INNOVATION IS AN AUTOMATED UAS MISSION PLANNING SYSTEM THAT WILL RAPIDLY IDENTIFY EMERGENCY (C…

Public award description

THE PROPOSED INNOVATION IS AN AUTOMATED UAS MISSION PLANNING SYSTEM THAT WILL RAPIDLY IDENTIFY EMERGENCY (CONTINGENCY) LANDING SITES, MANAGE CONTINGENCY ROUTING, AND DYNAMICALLY EVALUATE ROUTE CHANGES FOR VIABILITY AND SAFE OPERATIONS IN THE NAS. SPECIFICALLY, RAMPS WILL FEATURE A PRE-FLIGHT CONTINGENCY PLANNING CAPABILITY THAT RAPIDLY DETERMINES VIABLE ALTERNATE/EMERGENCY LANDING SITES BASED ON A UAS'S CONTINGENCY ABILITY AND SAFE ROUTING RESTRICTIONS. RAMPS WILL INCLUDE AN IN-FLIGHT DYNAMIC CONTINGENCY MANAGEMENT CAPABILITY THAT ASSESSES ATC-REQUESTED RE-ROUTING AND THREATS POSED BY WEATHER TO DETERMINE FEASIBILITY OF MODIFICATIONS TO THE UAS FLIGHT TRAJECTORY. RAMPS CAN OPERATE AS A RECOMMENDER SYSTEM, PROVIDING OPERATORS WITH A NARROW LIST OF BEST OPTIONS TO HELP FACILITATE TIMELY DECISION-MAKING. RAMPS CAPABILITIES WILL PROVIDE UAS OPERATORS WITH VALUABLE TIME SAVING EXAMINATION OF A PROPOSED ROUTE AND POSSIBLE CONTINGENCY OPERATIONS ALONG THAT ROUTE AUTOMATING WHAT HAS BEEN AN EXCEPTIONALLY TEDIOUS AND LENGTHY MANUAL PROCESS DURING MISSION PLANNING. THE IN-FLIGHT COMPONENT OF RAMPS WILL PROVIDE THE UAS OPERATOR WITH A DYNAMIC MISSION EVALUATION TOOL EXCEPTIONALLY IMPORTANT WHEN A RECONNAISSANCE AND SURVEILLANCE MISSION IS INTRODUCED INTO THE ROUTING PLANNING PROCESS.