Abstract:
WINDMAP addresses emerging needs in real-time weather forecasting to improve the safety of low altitude aircraft operations through the integration of real-time observations from autonomous systems with numerical weather prediction and flight management and safety systems. Through inclusion of diverse disciplines, this project will provide manned and unmanned aircraft improved situational awareness to enhance safety and efficiency, particularly for unmanned traffic management, urban air mobility, and airport operations.
Safe flight of new entrants to the US national airspace system including unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and urban air mobility (UAM) will require a high level of automation leading to autonomy. New eVTOL autonomous aircraft must dynamically respond to varying external conditions such as weather, unforeseen obstacles, and traffic congestion in urban environments. NASA’s efforts in Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management (UTM) and air traffic management for new entrants (ATMx) developments must have real-time weather forecasting coupled with autonomous path planning in order to accommodate safe operation.
In addition to the challenges of traffic congestion and obstacles, critical technology gaps exist for modeling, detecting, and accommodating the dynamic local weather environment and for precision navigation through uncertain weather conditions. WINDMAP is composed of a highly interdisciplinary team involving expertise from engineering (aerospace, computer, mechanical, and robotics), sensors, atmospheric physics, aviation weather, and numerical modeling to directly address these technical challenges.
Figure: Assimilation of novel high resolution observations from autonomous systems into new hybrid models will revolutionize aviation forecasting.
Biography of Speaker:
Jamey Jacob is the Director of the OSU Unmanned Systems Research Institute John Hendrix Chair and Professor of Aerospace Engineering in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Oklahoma State University. His current efforts are focused on observation and measurement applications of unmanned aircraft and their enhanced operation in the national airspace for commercial and industrial applications. He was the lead PI on the $6M NSF CLOUD-MAP program focused on developing unmanned aircraft for meteorology and atmospheric physics. He is currently lead on a $5 million NASA project to use drones to aid in future aviation weather prediction and reporting for advanced aerial mobility platforms, including drones and urban air taxis. He received his B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1990 and his M.S and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley in 1992 and 1995, respectively. He was a National Research Council Summer Faculty Fellow in the Air Force Research Laboratory and received the SAE Ralph Teetor Award, the Lockheed Martin Teaching Award, and the OSU Regents Distinguished Teaching Award, among other teaching and mentoring awards. He is a native Oklahoman and dedicates much of his efforts to K-12 education, STEM workforce development, and increasing diversity in engineering and science.
