Intelligent Flight Control System
Encyclopedia
The Intelligent Flight Control System (IFCS) is a next-generation flight control system designed to provide increased safety for the crew and passengers of aircraft
as well as to optimize the aircraft performance under normal conditions. The main benefit of this system is that it will allow a pilot to control an aircraft even under failure conditions that would normally cause it to crash. The IFCS is being developed under the direction of the NASA
Dryden Flight Research Center with the collaboration of the NASA Ames Research Center, Boeing Phantom Works
, the Institute for Scientific Research at West Virginia University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology
.
that is both adaptive and fault tolerant. This is accomplished through the use of upgrades to the flight control software that incorporate self-learning neural network
technology. The goals of the IFCS neural network project are.
of the IFCS learns flight characteristics in real time through the aircraft
’s sensors and from error corrections from the primary flight computer, and then uses this information to create different flight characteristic models for the aircraft. The neural network only learns when the aircraft is in a stable flight condition, and will discard any characteristics that would cause the aircraft to go into a failure condition. If the aircraft’s condition changes from stable to failure, for example, if one of the control surfaces becomes damaged and unresponsive, the IFCS can detect this fault and switch the flight characteristic model for the aircraft. The neural network then works to drive the error between the reference model and the actual aircraft state to zero.
was pre-trained using flight characteristics obtained for the F-15S/MTD
in a wind tunnel
test and did not actually provide any control adjustments in flight. The outputs of the neural network were run directly to instrumentation for data collection purposes only.
as described in the theory of operation. It is a direct adaptive system that continuously provides error corrections and then measures the effects of these corrections in order to learn new flight models or adjust existing ones. To measure the aircraft state, the neural network takes 31 inputs from the roll, pitch, and yaw axes and the control surfaces. If there is a difference between the aircraft state and model, the neural network adjusts the outputs of the primary flight computer through a dynamic inversion controller to bring the difference to zero before they are sent to the actuator control electronics which move the control surfaces.
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
as well as to optimize the aircraft performance under normal conditions. The main benefit of this system is that it will allow a pilot to control an aircraft even under failure conditions that would normally cause it to crash. The IFCS is being developed under the direction of the NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
Dryden Flight Research Center with the collaboration of the NASA Ames Research Center, Boeing Phantom Works
Boeing Phantom Works
The Phantom Works division is the advanced prototyping arm of the Defense and Security side of The Boeing Company. Its primary focus is developing advanced military products and technologies, many of them highly classified, and has produced breakthroughs in defense, space and security.Founded by...
, the Institute for Scientific Research at West Virginia University, and the Georgia Institute of Technology
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
.
Objectives of IFCS
The main purpose of the IFCS project is to create a system for use in civilian and military aircraftAircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
that is both adaptive and fault tolerant. This is accomplished through the use of upgrades to the flight control software that incorporate self-learning neural network
Neural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
technology. The goals of the IFCS neural network project are.
- To develop a flight control system that can identify aircraft characteristics through the use of neural network technology in order to optimize aircraft performance.
- To develop a neural network that can train itself to analyze the flight properties of the aircraft.
- To be able to demonstrate the aforementioned properties on a modified F-15 ACTIVE aircraft during flight, which is the testbedTestbedA testbed is a platform for experimentation of large development projects. Testbeds allow for rigorous, transparent, and replicable testing of scientific theories, computational tools, and new technologies.The term is used across many disciplines to describe a development environment that is...
for the IFCS project.
Theory of Operation
The neural networkNeural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
of the IFCS learns flight characteristics in real time through the aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...
’s sensors and from error corrections from the primary flight computer, and then uses this information to create different flight characteristic models for the aircraft. The neural network only learns when the aircraft is in a stable flight condition, and will discard any characteristics that would cause the aircraft to go into a failure condition. If the aircraft’s condition changes from stable to failure, for example, if one of the control surfaces becomes damaged and unresponsive, the IFCS can detect this fault and switch the flight characteristic model for the aircraft. The neural network then works to drive the error between the reference model and the actual aircraft state to zero.
Generation 1
Generation 1 IFCS flight tests were conducted in 2003 to test the outputs of the neural network. In this phase, the neural networkNeural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
was pre-trained using flight characteristics obtained for the F-15S/MTD
F-15S/MTD
|-F-15 ACTIVE:-See also:- External links :* * *...
in a wind tunnel
Wind tunnel
A wind tunnel is a research tool used in aerodynamic research to study the effects of air moving past solid objects.-Theory of operation:Wind tunnels were first proposed as a means of studying vehicles in free flight...
test and did not actually provide any control adjustments in flight. The outputs of the neural network were run directly to instrumentation for data collection purposes only.
Generation 2
Generation 2 IFCS tests were conducted in 2005 and used a fully integrated neural networkNeural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
as described in the theory of operation. It is a direct adaptive system that continuously provides error corrections and then measures the effects of these corrections in order to learn new flight models or adjust existing ones. To measure the aircraft state, the neural network takes 31 inputs from the roll, pitch, and yaw axes and the control surfaces. If there is a difference between the aircraft state and model, the neural network adjusts the outputs of the primary flight computer through a dynamic inversion controller to bring the difference to zero before they are sent to the actuator control electronics which move the control surfaces.