LiDAR-Supported Emergency Landing System for AAM Vehicles (LELSA)

With the rise of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), future vehicles and operations will present a wide variety of new safety issues as well as require new approaches to address long-standing issues that have, to date, been handled by well-trained human pilots. Among the most important is the ability to safely conduct an emergency landing. The LiDAR-supported Emergency Landing System for AAM (LELSA) emulates the perception, cognition, and decision making of expert operators to provide an onboard capability for crewed and uncrewed aircraft to accomplish the complex emergency (precautionary or forced) landing task. This LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) enhanced emergency landing system leverages both existing data and data acquired through in-flight perception to: (1) locate potential emergency landing sites; (2) continuously generate precautionary and forced landing plans that maximize both the quality of right now site assessment updates and the likelihood of a safe landing; (3) continuously update its on-board site assessments based on perception data (newly acquired knowledge); and (4) provide emergency flight plan information to the existing on-board flight computer. LELSA is designed to support and assist pilots through the emergency landing task and readily extends to fully autonomous operations. The overarching program goal is to demonstrate, in-flight, an intelligent AAM emergency landing system enhanced through multi-objective planning and knowledge acquisition (site assessment) to maximize the likelihood of locating and confirming a safe emergency landing site. With the rise of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), future vehicles and operations will require new approaches to address long-standing issues that have, to date, been handled by well-trained human pilots. Among them is the ability to safely conduct an emergency landing. The LiDAR-supported Emergency Landing System for AAM (LELSA) emulates the perception, cognition, and decision making of expert operators to provide an onboard capability to accomplish the complex emergency (precautionary or forced) landing task. The technology leverages both existing data and data acquired through in-flight perception to: (1) locate emergency sites; (2) continuously generate emergency plans that maximize both the quality of in-flight assessments and the likelihood of a safe landing; and (3) continuously update its on-board site assessments based on perception data. LELSA is designed to assist pilots through the emergency landing task and readily extends to fully autonomous operations. The program goal is to demonstrate, in-flight, an intelligent AAM emergency landing system. The overall goal is to demonstrate an approach that autonomously provides on-board guidance/assistance during an emergency landing for AAM vehicles. LELSA includes onboard perception, cognition, and multi-objective decision making to provide guidance for an AAM pilot to maximize safety to onboard passengers/cargo as well as persons, vehicles, and structures on the ground during an emergency landing. The research plan includes technology maturation and formal flight test evaluation on a surrogate AAM vehicle. Specific technical objectives include:   1. Mature LELSA Technology for Operational Use (Pilot Guidance/Support and Autonomous Operation); 2. Demonstrate the Operational Benefit and Overall Risk Reduction Afforded Through LELSA; 3. Facilitate LELSA Human/Machine Teaming through Graphical User Interface Design; 4. Flight Test Planning and Preparation; 5. Demonstrate Safety Benefits of LELSA in Full-Scale Flight Tests; and 6. Address verification, validation, and certification requirements.   Program deliverables include comprehensive flight test results and analysis, detailing the outcomes and recommended future directions as well as a comprehensive technology transition/commercialization plan.

The research plan is structured to meet objectives of the IASP. Further, programs such as Integration of Automated Systems (IAS), Revolutionary Vertical Lift Technology (RVLT), Expandable Variable Autonomy Architecture (EVAA), Automated Flight and Contingency Management (AFCM) and Transformational Tools and Technologies (TTT) as well as the AAM National Campaign and Pillars 2 (Individual Vehicle Management & Operations) and 5 (Community Integration) of the AAM Ecosystem Working Groups will see a benefit from the LELSA technology development. The team has hosted technology briefings with several AAM/eVTOL and UAS manufacturers to discuss market requirements and their respective roadmaps.  LELSA will serve to reduce the operational risk associated with AAM/UAS vehicles. The team will continue to engage these manufacturers, and others, to ensure the technology development meets their needs and to maintain a path to commercialization.

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