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Meeting	ACGS Committee Meeting 106 - La Jolla - October 2010
Agenda Location	8 SUBCOMMITTEE A – AERONAUTIC AND SURFACE VEHICLES 8.3 Automatic Collision Avoidance
Title	Automatic Collision Avoidance Best Presentation Award
Presenter	Mark Skoog
Affiliation	NASA Dryden
Available Downloads*	presentation video
	Downloads are available to members who are logged in and either Active* or attended this meeting.
Abstract	AUTOMATIC COLLISION AVOIDANCE TECHNOLOGY UPDATE Skoog, Mark A. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Dryden Flight Research Center P.O. Box 273 / M.S. 2332 Edwards, CA 93523 U.S.A Phone 661-276-5774 FAX 661-276-7012 Key words: collision avoidance, automatic recovery, pilot activated recovery, digital terrain Abstract Currently, the majority of collision avoidance systems on fighter aircraft depend on the pilot taking action whenever a warning is issued by the manual system. Any future substantial reductions in mishap rates will require extending the collision avoidance technology to systems that not only warn the pilot but also take control and fly the aircraft out of danger before returning control to the pilot. An Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (Auto GCAS) will provide this extension of collision avoidance technology. Much work has been accomplished over the past 20 years in the developing and testing of an Auto GCAS. In the past three years, a Fighter Risk Reduction Program (FRRP) has been undertaken by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright Patterson AFB. This program is a joint effort between AFRL, NASA Dryden, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, and the Air Force Flight Tests Center. The FRRP has advanced Auto GCAS technology to a level now capable of production transition. Results of this effort will be discussed. The F-16 test aircraft is shown in Figure 1. Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT) is defined as collision with terrain, water, trees or a man-made obstacle during flight prior to planned touchdown. CFIT includes mishaps where the aircraft is controllable and the pilot is actively controlling the aircraft or the pilot’s ability to control the aircraft is reduced due to spatial disorientation. CFIT also includes mishaps where the aircraft is flown in controlled flight to a point where it is no longer possible to avoid unintended ground impact (e.g., attempted maneuver with insufficient altitude or airspeed, low altitude over bank or flight into a box canyon), regardless of subsequent pilot reaction (e.g., add power, maneuver to avoid terrain, etc.). Prevention of CFIT mishaps utilizing Auto GCAS will be presented. The requirements for Auto GCAS and the order of importance of those requirements will be discussed. Specific methods and techniques for the design and the guidelines on how to safely integrate an automatic collision avoidance system into aircraft will be discussed. Discussions on the flight test results of the recent Auto GCAS will be presented. Design trades such as low level protection versus nuisance potential shall be presented. Integrity management is a technique that allows a safe integration between redundant and non-redundant systems. It will be discussed as to how this technique was utilized to provide flight safety in automatic systems. The design methods and techniques for Auto GCAS will show how these methods differ from traditional manual collision avoidance designs. Statistics to show why automatic systems will improve flight safety over manual systems will be discussed. A brief history of Auto GCAS will be presented. In 2005, a goal of reducing CFIT mishaps by 75% was established. To accomplish this goal, the Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness established a Defense Safety Oversight Council (DSOC). The DSOC further chartered nine Task Force teams targeting multiple areas where mishap reduction could occur. One task force, the Aviation Safety Improvement Task Force (ASI TF) was chartered with reducing aviation mishaps. The ASI TF formed integrated product teams and working groups to assess aviation mishaps and recommend feasible and effective mitigation strategies. The Safety Technology Working Group (STWG) was the ASI TF working group charged with identifying technological mitigation strategies for aviation mishap reduction. The STWG recommended Auto GCAS as the means to achieve the goal of reducing CFIT mishaps.