Autonomous Rotorcraft Operations from Unprepared Sites

The program will develop a prototype Autonomous Helicopter Rugged Operations Controller (AHROC) supporting autonomous approach, landing, takeoff, departure and navigation in sloped, rugged terrain in a GPS denied environment. The AHROC system utilizes dual color camera inputs. Passive image processing functions provide: 1) Aircraft localization using a reference digital elevation map, 2) The generation of dense megapixel structure of the environment including ground cover at rates exceeding 1 Hz for precise helicopter control, 3) Landing hazard assessment for sloping, rugged terrain with dense ground cover. The system"s landing/take-off controller enables landing on terrain with uncertain surface characteristics; it mitigates dynamic rollover by thrust modulation and thrust vector stabilization and senses skid sinking and entrapment. The system development will be conducted in the sloped, rugged terrain surrounding the Santa Ana Canyon, Redlands, CA using a Bell 206. A human pilot flies the AHROC"s realtime flight director type output; this enables rapid and economical system development, test and demonstration. Since the system is passive it has a low probability of detection; it is also simple, low cost and reliable. The AHROC"s capabilities and attributes meet many of the low altitude objectives of the USMC Unmanned Air Systems (UAS) cargo"truck"concept.