Although unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is the subject of extensive research, this technology can still only be applied to existing aircraft with changes to the hardware and software required. However, there are needs for converting existing aircrafts to unmanned aircrafts in a short time for disaster area because developing a new UAV costs a lot of money and time. Currently, auto pilot is built in some existing aircrafts, but auto pilot itself is not able to perform any mission due to the limited authority of the auto pilot. Also, optionally piloted vehicle (OPV) is developed recently, but OPV requires too much actuators and is platform dependent. Therefore, an unmanned system in which a humanoid robot acts as the pilot is proposed for use in converting existing aircraft into unmanned aircraft with minimal modifications.
Hardware architecture is designed and implemented as to have humanoid features. Degrees of freedom (DOF) is concentrated on arms of the pilot robot because most of the work is to manipulate cockpit with hands. The legs are designed to have 3 DOF which is the minimum DOF to manipulate pedal. Workspace analysis is done to design legs and check if workspace is covering all the cockpit environment. Electronics, such as computing, networking, and power sources, are selected and implemented to meet the performance of actuators.
Software architecture is designed based on flight procedures approved by FAA and cockpit configuration defined with transformation matrix. The algorithm is forming a feedback control loop combining line-of-sight (LOS) guidance, PID control, and position control of the manipulator. Waypoint planning which is the main stream of the control loop is designed based on the flight procedures.
Flight simulation using X-Plane and flight motion simulator is performed to verify the performance and feasibility of the pilot robot. The model of aircraft is Comanche PA-24 and the flight scenario is take-off at Yeosu airport and landing on the same airport. As a result, the pilot robot operated the aircraft successfully following the flight scenario and showed the possibility of converting existing aircraft into unmanned aircraft using a pilot robot.
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