Smart Adaptive Flight Effective Cue (SAFE-Cue)

To enhance aviation safety, numerous adaptive control techniques have been developed to maintain aircraft stability and performance in the presence of failures or damage. Flight evaluations of various adaptive controllers conducted by NASA and others have shown great promise. In some cases unfavorable pilot-vehicle interactions including pilot-induced oscillations have occurred. Susceptibility to such interactions is more likely when the pilot interacts with a highly nonlinear vehicle that may no longer have predictable response characteristics. To alleviate these unfavorable interactions, Systems Technology, Inc. proposes the Smart Adaptive Flight Effective Cue or SAFE-Cue. This innovative system provides force feedback to the pilot via an active control inceptor with corresponding command path gain adjustments. The SAFE-Cue alerts the pilot that the adaptive control system is active, provides guidance via force feedback cues, and attenuates commands, thus ensuring pilot-vehicle system stability and performance in the presence of damage or failures. Phase 2 will build upon a successful Phase 1 demonstration wherein SAFE-Cue configurations eliminated pilot-vehicle system oscillation tendencies allowing the evaluation pilots to focus on the task rather than maintaining control. In this proposed program, a prototype SAFE-Cue will be developed and evaluated with exemplar adaptive controllers using the Calspan Learjet In-Flight Simulator.

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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