Abstract:
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Despite the evolution of unmanned aircraft
systems (UASs), the technological development on
airframes, autopilots, communications and payload,
is still limited by the absence of software
standardization. Engineers face the development of
UAS systems with the implementation of ad - hoc
solutions to satisfy the mission requirements. This is
a major limitation with regard to the software
maintenance and re-usability that may result in an
increment of both project cost and risk. Wellstructured
UAS avionics supporting increased levels
of automation (and eventually autonomy), together
with reconfiguration capabilities and costeffectiveness,
are key requirements for UAS to be
successful in a global scenario. Additionally the
major civil applications require UAS with access to
non-segregated airspace. Following Eurocontrol,
FAA and ICAO philosophy, the introduction of
unmanned traffic should not affect ATM operations,
thus UAS should comply with the performance levels
required by SESAR and NextGen. Hence, operations
with unmanned aircraft should guarantee safe and
efficient interaction with the ATM system. In that
aspect gaps and issues into unmanned aircraft
software architectures are discussed in this paper.
Required mechanism for ATM communication,
collision avoidance, maneuver automation and
SESAR/NextGen integration are discussed to identify
possible short-term and long-term software
requirements. Moreover, existing standardized
software frameworks and proposed software
proposed are reviewed to identify the gaps it should deal with to achieve an efficient UAS integration. |