Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/12246
Title: Collision avoidance system for RPAS
Authors: Zammit, Melvin
Keywords: Vehicles, Remotely piloted
Airplanes -- Collision avoidance
Markov processes
Issue Date: 2016
Abstract: Remote Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) are becoming increasingly popular on the market. Despite of this, there is currently no Collision Avoidance System (CAS) designed specifically for RPAS. To reap the full benefits of RPAS by introducing them in civil airspace, a collision avoidance system specifically designed for RPAS must be developed. The scope of this project is to develop a CAS for RPAS, as a last resort safety net, to detect and avoid imminent mid-air collisions with other aircraft. This will be done by issuing a Resolution Advisory (RA) to the pilot if there is a significant probability of collision. The CAS developed in this project aims to keep the amount of RAs to a minimum while allowing the pilot sufficient time to act on the RA and avoid a collision. The CAS is based on the Markov Decision Process (MDP) algorithm. This allows for most of the computations to be performed off-line, allowing for negligible online computation on-board the RPAS. A lookup table, referred to as the policy, was used on-board the RPAS to determine the best RA based on the current system state. Fast time simulations were used to test and validate the algorithm. With the performance evaluation performed, a RPAS equipped with a MDP-CAS algorithm achieved a Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) reduction of 93.86 per cent when compared to an RPAS with no CAS equipment.
Description: B.ENG.(HONS)
URI: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/12246
Appears in Collections:Dissertations - FacEng - 2016
Dissertations - FacEngESE - 2016

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