FACET as a Collaborative, Open Source UAS Research Platform

We build a tool that accelerates Research and Development (R&D) aimed at introducing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace System (NAS). In the proposed effort, FACET will form the basis of a collaborative R&D platform, an environment where users can share open source software modules (software and data sets developed to reside outside the FACET Application Programmers Interface (API)) between users at the same or different universities, so that each user can benefit from the open source software and data contributions of others. Thus, when a student who has never used FACET before enters into a collaborative study of UAS integration in the NAS, he/she is able to download open source software and data to get going on rich R&D experiment without having to start from scratch. A student can download weather data sets, Special Use Airspace (SUA) data, air traffic demand data, UAS models (e.g., Base of Aircraft Data (BADA)) and flight plans, metrics, or anything that is posted on the open source library, to get a "running start" with R&D. When completing innovative modules outside the API, the student can post software to the open source repository for others to benefit. This collaborative environment will also allow for FACET-based research to be performed in a distributed manner – where simulations at one university may be run with models and parameters provided by other users at different universities, and the results posted back to the common repository for all users to share. This open-source collaborative platform is demonstrated on R&D problems aimed at introducing

- Integrated Systems Research Program (ISRP) – ISRP needs to quickly explore as many alternatives for controlling UASs in the NAS as possible. This includes modeling and simulation of new missions and trajectories of UASs in the NAS, Separation Assurance (SA) strategies, understanding Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA), estimating/quantifying NAS-wide system properties (safety, efficiency, environmental impact, etc), and understanding the impacts of various procedures and policies associated with UASs operating in the NAS. The approach we advocate is to perform such ISRP R&D on an open-source, collaborative NAS simulation platform, so that a large quantity of R&D efforts may proceed in parallel and leverage each other to explore the largest trade space possible. - Airspace Systems Program (ASP) – For ASP, our proposed system allows for concept exploration of how UAS introduction in the NAS will affect traffic flow management efficiency and safety and capacity in NextGen. - Aviation Safety Program (AvSP) - For AvSP our proposed SBIR product helps researchers study safety-related issues associated with the introduction of UASs in the NAS.

The proposed software has application to FAA and military systems as well. Because NextGen encompasses all government agencies through the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO), many forms of government, e.g., Army, Air Force, FAA, NASA and Homeland Security must work together in JPDO NextGen investigations, and our open source platform suits such a collaboration. FAA, JPDO, and military have all expressed a high level of interest in the introduction of UASs into the NAS. Each organization will want to use our system to understand their own metrics, impacts, and safety issues associated with this problem.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 3) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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