UAV Sensor Controller for Manned Aircraft

This proposal offers a solution for the development of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) controller for manned aircraft. In this endeavor, Kutta and its partners design and develop an innovative concept for the control of UAVs from the cockpit of manned airborne platforms. The Work Plan employs the Rational Unified Process to ensure focus on user needs and system goals. The Work Plan utilizes innovative human factors tests to optimize the notional GUI and refine the vision of the controller to something that can be produced in a Phase II effort. The resulting research yields an optimized controller that is augmented by adaptive, proven and certifiable UAV control software. The resulting product is a ubiquitous controller that can be utilized by pilots in the air and soldiers on the ground to conduct UAV-based Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Target Acquisition missions. The Phase I work culminates in a bread-boarded demonstration and summary of the lessons learned through actual flight test and quantitative human factors evaluations. The Phase I option concludes with recommended methodologies and action plans on how to design, develop, test, and facilitate technology transition into the DoD UAV community.