Many control problems are based on control objectives easily quantified and consequently realisable by standard control synthesis methods. When an unmanned aircraft navigates, it moves inside a complex environment due to interactions with its surrounding and time varying environmental conditions. Several causes of perturbations have been identified as for example gusts and corrupted information of position. The characteristics of possible missions carried out by the un manned aircraft leads to the desire to construct navigation control systems which when operated in perturbed environments combine the advantages of smooth control with accurate navigation. Rule based, and adaptive controllers have favourable properties for such systems. This thesis investigates the use of a rule based navigation controller for a particular unmanned aircraft, the XRAEl aircraft. To achieve this objective several different types of fuzzy logic controllers are analysed as for example conventional and direct and indirect adaptive fuzzy controllers. They are designed by employing simple control engineering knowledge and subsequently validated using a stability method. For this purpose diverse stability methods are described and a new technique presented, the fuzzy root locus method, which is also based on the introduction of a new concept for fuzzy logic controllers, the fuzzy cell. The realisation of this work has been achieved by a series of simulation tests employing different processes and a simulation model of the XRAEl aircraft. The conclusions drawn from the results of the experiments consider in general that a rule based controller can improve the quality of navigation when compared to conventional controllers.

No description available.

The introduction of fly-by-wire electronic flight control systems into transport aircraft has given the flying qualities engineer the opportunity to optimise the flying qualities of these aircraft for their specific tasks. With this technology has come the opportunity to introduce new technologies into the cockpit, such as non-linked or backfed sidesticks and non-backfed throttle levers. A comparative survey of airline pilots flying such a very high technology unconventional aircraft and a high technology but conventional aircraft suggests that these technologies may reduce the available channels of communication to the pilot in the very high technology aircraft, resulting in the possibility of reduced situational awareness. A closed loop piloted simulation survey of ten transport aircraft in current operation was undertaken which demonstrated that they all suffered from flying qualities deficiencies, limiting the performance that the pilot could achieve. In particular poor dynamics precluded the pilot adopting tight closed loop, or compensatory, control. Instead it was necessary to adopt a more open loop, precognitive, technique with medium frequency modulation, resulting in a degradation in landing performance. Through appropriate flight control system design it should be possible to produce aircraft that can be flown using the full range of control inputs from open to closed loop. The major study of this thesis assessed, through piloted simulation evaluations, the suitability of a wide range of longitudinal commanded response types for the approach and landing tasks. It was concluded that a response type that closely resembles that of angle of attack is optimum for these tasks due to its conventional characteristics of speed stability on the approach and monotonic stick forces in the flare. Such a system, appropriately implemented, should allow the transport aircraft pilot the full range of piloted control inputs, from open loop, precognitive, to closed loop, compensatory, resulting in improved landing performance.

Drift moves aquatic insects downstream, risking depopulation of upstream reaches. However, the necessity and exist-ence of an upstream flight to compensate for drift has not been undisputed. I analysed a sample of approximately 70 000 Trichoptera from a stream in northern Sweden collected during one season in 1974. The overall flight direction was upstream. Females had a stronger upstream flight than males and species varied in both flight direction and strength of the preference. Flight direction was not affected by wind or trap type. Upstream flight varied during the season and with different larval behaviours. Upstream flight increased with the size of the imago and with the abun-dance in flight. A colonisation cycle might be in effect but even though upstream flight occurs, it might not be neces-sary to sustain populations in upstream reaches.

The development of a microprocessor based digital flight control system for a particular R.P.V. is described. The tasks required of this system are defined, and thereafter, the hardware circuits and the software structure necessary to implement a prototype are presented. The autopilot control laws are inferred from z-plane root loci, and then confirmed using digital simulations of the de-coupled roll and pitch attitude loops. The problems of the finite wordlength implementation of the control laws are discussed, and then both hybrid simulation and actual flight results are used to prove the performance of the prototype. To exploit the adaptive capabilities of a software based system, a sliding mode variable structure control law is developed for the roll attitude loop. Digital simulations are used to show that significant improvements in sensitivity reduction can be achieved under some conditions. These improvements are lost if a realistic servo-actuator model is employed. Another objective, namely the reduction of the disturbance error induced by trim imbalance, is maintained provided a reduced order switching function is used.

No description available.

This thesis describes work on a novel 3D imaging system that successfully implements optical feedback and noise rejection mechanisms. The system is a combination of three relatively new technologies, namely, holographic projection, Time of Flight (ToF) ranging and Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) sensors. Holographic projection is used to provide structured illumination with optical feedback instead of more commonly used uniform illumination in similar imaging systems. It is obtained using a Ferro-electric Liquid Crystal on Silicon Spatial Light Modulator (FLCoS SLM). The structured illumination with optical feedback can be operated at up to 60 Hz with the current device, and has been shown to provide an average gain of about 1.56 in useful light levels. Alternatively, a gain over a limited area of up to a factor of 9 is possible with the current system. Time of Flight ranging is a method of choice for the system when depth estimation is concerned. It works even at very low light levels and allows for sub-centimetre depth resolution. ToF method was implemented using 20 MHz laser diode with 50 ps pulse duration and 200 mW peak power, as well as a SPAD sensor. The SPAD sensor consisted of a 32 32 array of 50 μm pixels, each with 10 bit Time to Digital Converter (TDC) with 50 ps timing resolution. Sensor pixels feature 100 Hz mean Dark Count Rate (DCR). The use of SPAD sensors with an adaptive sensing algorithm presented in this work has been demonstrated to reduce effective noise levels as seen by the sensor by a factor of 16. As a result, a significant gain in depth resolution can be achieved. The quantification of this gain is explained in more detail within this work. Furthermore, the work describes in detail system design, methodology of experimental procedure as well as different algorithms essential to the correct operation of the system. Significant amount of time is dedicated to diffraction pattern generation for the use in holographic projection, as well as modelling of photon detection in SPAD sensors and associated peak detection necessary to extract depth information from histograms of timed of photons. Moreover, the thesis discusses potential applications for the system based on the results of system characterisation presented in this work. The current state of the system suggests best suitability for gaming and machine vision applications. Finally, the work offers potential solutions to the practical issues that remain unresolved in the current system, alternatives for components used and paths for potential future development of the system proposed.

In this case study, researchers investigated the instructional methods used to train private pilot students at Utah Valley University. Traditional one-on-one individualized learning methods were replaced with cooperative learning methods. Descriptive statistics were used to determine the effectiveness and efficiency of the cooperative learning methods used. Reduced training time, less repeated lessons and a reduced number of flight hours showed that cooperative learning methods were more efficient and a more effective way to train private pilot students at Utah Valley University.

The performance of a linear matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometer (MALDI-oa-TOFMS) was improved with more reproducible sample preparation methods, a higher rate digitiser for integrating signals and customisable computer control, data acquisition and analysis in the LabVIEW?programming environment. This resulted in a ~20% improvement in resolution (up to 4,400) and enabled measurement of desorption velocities of 1,000 - 1,800 ms-1 for analytes with m/z 615 ?1,350 Da, with matrix ion velocities being 4,000 ?4,800 ms?. Detector limitations and restrictions on source axis energy (and hence velocity) required for the analysis of ions prevented detection of other species with this instrument. A 20 kV reflecting geometry MALDI-oa-TOFMS was constructed to overcome these limitations and extend the mass range. This mass spectrometer was able to analyse ions desorbed with a wide range of energies (32 ?197 eV). The resolution was found to be 8,000 -10,000. Best mass accuracy was 15-80 ppm (internal standards ). External calibration gave larger mass errors, mostly due to timing jitter, but the mass axis was stable for &lt2 weeks. Mass accuracy was independent of the analyte and matrix used. Ions with m/z of ~10,000 - 20,000 Da were observable with the use of a pulsed lens in the target region. This lens increased signal approximately 20 times, but degraded resolution. The detection limit of the instrument (sample consumed) was estimated to vary from 10 ?90 fmol, by extrapolation, with more moles required at higher m/z. The microsphere plate (MSP) electron multiplier used in the reflecting instrument was found to have a temporal response of &gt1 ns FWHM, but with a low secondary electron conversion efficiency, making it unsuitable for high m/z species. Experiments were also performed with a novel rectangular mesh grid, which (in correct orientation) provided similar resolution to conventional square mesh grids, but with significantly improved transmission and hence sensitivity.

In order to meet the fast-growing demand, airlines have applied much more compact air-fleet operation schedules which directly lead to airport congestion. One result is the flight delay, which appears more frequently and seriously; the flight delay can also significantly damage airline's profitability and reputation The aim of this project is to enhance the dispatch reliability of Australian X Airline's fleet through a newly developed approach to reliability modeling, which employs computer-aided numerical simulation of the departure delay distribution and related cost to achieve the flight schedule optimization. The reliability modeling approach developed in this project is based on the probability distributions and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) techniques. Initial (type I) delay and propagated (type II) delay are adopted as the criterion for data classification and analysis. The randomicity of type I delay occurrence and the internal relationship between type II delay and changed flight schedule are considered as the core factors in this new approach of reliability modeling, which compared to the conventional assessment methodologies, is proved to be more accurate on the departure delay and cost evaluation modeling. The Flight Delay and Cost Simulation Program (FDCSP) has been developed (Visual Basic 6.0) to perform the complicated numerical calculations through significant amount of pseudo-samples. FDCSP is also designed to provide convenience for varied applications in dispatch reliability modeling. The end-users can be airlines, airports and aviation authorities, etc. As a result, through this project, a 16.87% reduction in departure delay is estimated to be achieved by Australian X Airline. The air-fleet dispatch reliability has been enhanced to a higher level - 78.94% compared to initial 65.25%. Thus, 13.35% of system cost can be saved. At last, this project also achieves to set a more practical guideline for air-fleet database and management upon overall dispatch reliability optimization.