Flight Control
Figure: Flight Control Design and Optimization Tools
The design, simulation, integration, and flight testing of flight control systems for modern aircraft constitutes a series of challenging multidisciplinary tasks that factor significantly in the overall time and cost of aircraft development.
The U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC) in conjunction with San José State University Research Foundation (SJSURF), under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with DEVCOM AvMC, have jointly developed a modern integrated toolset that addresses such technical challenges:
CIFER® (Comprehensive Identification from FrEquency Responses), a system identification tool based on a comprehensive frequency-response approach that is uniquely suited to the difficult problems associated with flight-test data analysis.
CONDUIT® (CONtrol Designer's Unified InTerface), a state-of-the-art flight control design and optimization tool that allows the user to rapidly evaluate and optimize control systems against relevant performance specifications and design criteria.
RIPTIDE (Real-time Interactive Prototype Technology Integration Development Environment), a high fidelity desktop simulation tool which provides a platform for rapid piloted simulation evaluation of the control law design.
STITCH is a new software capability that allows a non-expert to create and verify a full-envelope stitched simulation model from individual point models and trim data.
Key Advantages of the Toolset:
- Unique and integrated design environment that seamlessly brings together all relevant engineering disciplines under one common modeling platform.
- Offers potential for significant reduction in time and cost of design, optimization, and simulation of modern flight control systems.
Fielding UAS and optionally-piloted systems bears an additional cost in developing algorithms to automate the flight control of these systems partially or entirely.
Contact Information:
TECHNICAL CONTACT
Dr. Tom Berger
Flight Control Group Lead
Technology Development Directorate
US Army DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center (AvMC)
tom.berger2.civ@army.mil
SOFTWARE CONTACT
Kenny K. Cheung
Chief Software Architect
Universities Space Research Association
kenny.k.cheung.ctr@army.mil
SALES & OTHER INQUIRIES CONTACT
San José State University Research Foundation
flight-control-sta@sjsu.edu
