Description: Aircraft Loss-Of-Control (LOC) has been a longstanding contributor to fatal aviation accidents. Inappropriate pilot action for healthy aircraft, control failures, and vehicle impairment are frequent contributors to LOC accidents. These accidents could be reduced if an on-board system was available to immediately guide the pilot to a safe flight condition (including cases of control failure or vehicle impairment). Barron Associates previously developed and demonstrated (in pilot-in-the-loop simulations) a system for finding appropriate control input sequences to recovery from upset conditions, and for cueing pilots to follow these sequences. The proposed work would add several innovative capabilities to the existing architecture. One of the most significant proposed enhancements is the addition of adaptation to address off-nominal vehicle responses. Off-nominal vehicle responses can occur for a number of reasons including adverse onboard conditions (e.g., actuator failures, engine failures, or airframe damage) and external hazards, especially icing. The addition of adaptation capabilities will allow the proposed system to provide appropriate upset recovery guidance in cases of off-nominal vehicle response. The proposed system is also specifically designed to be robust to variations in pilot dynamic behavior as well as provide enhanced robustness to pilot deviations from the recommended recovery strategies.

Benefits: One of the overarching goals of the NASA's Aviation Safety Program is to improve aircraft safety for current and future aircraft. As loss of control accounts for a significant percentage of the fatal accident rate, developing systems that improve the response to upset conditions in flight are critical to achieving this goal. The proposed research addresses three of the top ten challenges for the AvSP including: (1) "Assuring Safe Human-Systems Integration" (2) "Improve Crew Decision-Making and Response in Complex Situations" and (3) "Assure Safe and Effective Aircraft Control under Hazardous Conditions." The DAGUR system is explicitly structured around pilot acceptance by providing robust performance in the face of variations in pilot dynamic behavior (Challenge 1). The closed-loop guidance provided by DAGUR will aid pilots during upset recovery preventing a high stress situation from developing into a full-blown loss of control event even in cases of vehicle failures and impairments (Challenges 2 and 3).

The immediate application for the proposed technology is in the civilian aerospace sector to improve aviation safety and security. However, the technology will readily extend to military aviation and space exploration. The increasing prevalence of remotely-piloted UAVs for military and homeland security applications, their consideration for terrestrial science missions and planetary exploration in the near-to-mid term, and the likely ubiquitous commercial roles of these vehicles in the longer-term, provide numerous opportunities for the transition of the proposed SBIR technologies. Application potential is not limited to the aerospace industry, but is extensible to all systems where a human operator can be assisted by a robust guidance module.