Suborbital rockets in safety & defense applications

This paper presents benefits from using suborbital rockets in safety & defense applications. The paper describes suborbital rockets and their contribution to modern science, research and technology development. A historical view of suborbital rockets and their applications in safety & defense roles is discussed. Chosen research & development activities, military exercises and air defense systems’ tests performed using suborbital rockets in various countries are listed and described based on a literature review of publicly available sources. The paper presents capabilities of Łukasiewicz Research Network – Institute of Aviation in the field of suborbital rockets. A development of ILR-33 AMBER 2K rocket reaching flight speeds over Mach 4 and optimized to reach 100 km altitude is described with comment regarding its applicability in safety & defense applications supported by flight simulations.

Pairwise Control In Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Swarm Flocking

Inspired by the natural phenomenon that pair-bonded jackdaws fly together within a flock, a new cooperative model and control method with pairwise structure in the swarm flocking is proposed to perform proximity missions such as air refueling, data exchange and coordinated operations of two unmanned aerial vehicles in the swarm. A noval square-law error sliding mode surface and variable structure sliding mode controller are proposed, so that any two unmanned aerial vehicles in the swarm could converge to a specified relative distance. Based on this, the distributed control protocol is designed that integrates pairwise distance control and flocking control. It enables unmanned aerial vehicles to be paired in the swarm without disrupting the consensus of the entire swarm. Finally, two theorems are proved by Lyapunov stability theorem. The distance between paired unmanned aerial vehicles is exponentially convergent, and the swarm flocking is collision free. Swarm flight simulations based on particle motion model with number from 20 to 100 are respectively presented, as well as 10 unmanned aerial vehicles swarm flight simulations with quadrotor dynamics model. The simulation experiments have sufficiently verified the effectiveness and accuracy of the method. The results show that distance control could still be achieved in the extreme case that the paired unmanned aerial vehicles are at the farthest corners of the swarm.

Drosophila local search emerges from iterative odometry of consecutive run lengths

SUMMARYThe ability to keep track of one’s location in space is a critical behavior for animals navigating to and from a salient location, but its computational basis remains unknown. Here, we tracked flies in a ring-shaped channel as they executed bouts of search, triggered by optogenetic activation of sugar receptors. Flies centered their back-and-forth local search excursions near fictive food locations by closely matching the length of consecutive runs. We tested a set of agent-based models that incorporate iterative odometry to store and retrieve the distance walked between consecutive events, such as reversals in walking direction. In contrast to memoryless models such as Lévy flight, simulations employing reversal-to-reversal integration recapitulated flies’ centered search behavior, even during epochs when the food stimulus was withheld or in experiments with multiple food sites. However, experiments in which flies reinitiated local search after circumnavigating the arena suggest that flies can also integrate azimuthal heading to perform path integration. Together, this work provides a concrete theoretical framework and experimental system to advance investigations of the neural basis of path integration.

Combined Momentum Theory and Simple Vortex Theory Inflow Model for Multirotor Configurations

For conventional main/tail rotor helicopters, momentum theory-based inflow models are still popular for design trade studies and flight simulations. However, simple momentum theory-based inflow models are not readily applicable in design trade studies of multirotor configuration vehicles where complex flow interactions among rotors can have a significant impact on vehicle overall performance, and hence, can impact vehicle sizing. The use of empirically corrected ad hoc inflow models is not often satisfactory. In this study, momentum theory is combined with a simple vortex theory in the development of a combined momentum theory and simple vortex theory (CMTSVT) based inflow model that is readily applicable to generic multirotor configurations. The developed model is validated against some multirotor inflow models and experimental data from the literature through comparisons of inflow predictions and performance predictions for different dual-rotor configurations. Further, inflow predictions using the proposed inflow model for a partially overlapping quad-rotor configuration are presented to illustrate the significance of rotor-on-rotor flow interactions in multirotor vehicle configurations.

Artificial Intelligence Waves on Space Computation Management: A Review Report

When writing about the history of the internet, it is important to note that aerospace was among the significant pioneers in computer networking computer network for private was used in first airline reservation system “SABRE” in 1960 for American airlines. While sage was the first computer system in the world, its deficiencies led to the development of ARPANET. These systems formed the foundations for the internet and the development of other computer programs in aerospace, any deficiency led to the invention of a new program, giving birth to programming, CAD, and CAM that brought about simulations. Aerospace computing has evolved over the years and is now carrying the whole weight of the aerospace industry. Before the launch of any space vehicle or satellite, simulation has become a necessary step, checking for weaknesses for corrections to be done on the ground. Besides, computer simulation has been essential in training, facilitating the training of pilots worldwide. This article presents more information regarding the application of AI in aerospace computing, flight simulations, and their advantages in the aerospace industry.

LVC Allocator: Aligning training value with scenario design for envisioned LVC training of fast-jet pilots

Live virtual constructive (LVC) flight simulations mix pilots flying actual aircraft, pilots flying in simulators, and computer-generated forces, in joint scenarios. Training resources invested in LVC scenarios must give a high return, and therefore pilots in both live aircraft and simulators need to experience training value for the extensive resources invested in both, an aspect not emphasized in current LVC research. Thus, there is a need for a function, in this article described as LVC Allocator, which assures that complex LVC training scenarios include aspects of training value for all participants, and, thus, purposefully align scenario design with training value. A series of workshops were carried out with 16 fast-jet pilots articulating the training challenges that LVC could contribute to solving, and allocating LVC entities in a training scenario design exercise. The training values for LVC included large scenarios, weapon delivery, flight safety, adversary performance, and weather dependence. These values guided the reasoning of how to allocate different entities to L, V, or C entities. Allocations were focused on adversaries as V, keeping entity types together, weather dependence, low-altitude and supersonic flying requirements, and to let L entities handle and lead complex tasks to keep the human in the loop.