RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS
(UAS, including UAV and MAV)

From April 4 to 8, 2011

von Karman Institute, Rhode-St-Genèse, Belgium

Although initially unmanned aerial vehicles were accepted only very slowly by the military, in the 1990’s they brought a real revolution in military operations. Presently they are considered as a standard tool in military thinking. Cross fertilization between defence forces and industry has paved the way to civil applications of UAVs. Being aware of this evolution, in collaboration with the RTO (NATO Research and Technology Organization,) VKI has organized in 1999 and 2003 two VKI-RTO Lecture Series on Unmanned Air Vehicles. Now UAVs have reached a high level of reliability, it is time to think of civil applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). This new denomination makes it clear that a UAS is more than only the flying component. The current Lecture Series will therefore include contributions on all aspects dealing with the design, manufacturing, control and operating Unmanned Aerial Systems and its sensors.

The Lecture Series will start with a general overview of UAS: what are the different categories of such systems, what are their performance characteristics and their limitations. This will be followed by a contribution on a solar powered UAS flying at very high altitude and operating at low Reynolds number. Then propulsion systems will be discussed, including novel technologies such as pulse detonation, fuel cells and solar power. Mini and micro UAS will be highlighted, followed by a session on Command and Control. Flight sensors will also be discussed. These lectures will be illustrated by live experiments in the audience.

Finally, on the last day an overview will be given on the rules to be compliant with when operating UAS in controlled airspace. Constraints associated with integration of manned and unmanned aircraft will be discussed.

The directors of this Lecture Series are Prof. Roland Decuypere, from R-D Scientific Consulting, formerly from Royal Military Academy, Belgium, and Prof. Mario Carbonaro, Honorary Director, von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics.

TIMETABLE

Monday 4 April 2011

• 08:45    Registration
• 09:15    Welcome, introductory remarks
• 09:30    Overview of unmanned aircraft systems
  Prof. R. Decuypere, R-D Scientific Consulting, Belgium
• 11:15    Towards eternal flight by solar power
  Dr. C. Kelleher, QinetiQ, UK
• 14:00    Hale : Operation at low Reynolds number
  Dr. C. Kelleher
• 15:45    Unmanned aircraft propulsion systems
  Prof. P. Hendrick, ULB, Belgium
• 17:00    Reception

Tuesday 5 April 2011

• 09:00    Unmanned aircraft propulsion systems (cont.)
  Prof. P. Hendrick
• 10:45    Review of micro and mini UAVs: characteristics and performance
  Prof. F. Quagliotti & Dr. G. Guglieri, Politecnico of Torino, Italy
• 14:00    Flight control systems integration on mini UAV
  Prof. F. Quagliotti & Dr. G. Guglieri
• 15:45    Introduction to micro air vehicles: concepts, design and applications
  Prof. D. F. Kurtulus, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Wednesday 6 April 2011

• 09:00    Unsteady aerodynamics of flapping aerofoils: case studies with experimental, numerical, theoretical and soft computing methods
  Prof. D. F. Kurtulus
• 10:45    Role and needs of MAVs from the USAF perpective
  Dr. G. Abate, AFOSR, USA, & EOARD, London, UK
• 14:00    Modelling, control system design and hardware/software-in-the-loop simulation for UAS
  Prof. F. Giulietti, University of Bologna, Italy
• 15:45    Avionics, telemetry and ground control station design and prototyping
  Prof. F. Giulietti

Thursday 7 April 2011

• 09:00    MEDUSA: from concept to flight model
  Mr. B. Delauré, VITO, Belgium
• 10:45    Payloads for lightweight UAS
  Mr. N. Lewyckyj & Mr. B. Michiels, VITO, Belgium
• 14:00    Fundamentals in optical systems engineering
  Mr. Ph. Chevalier, OIP, Belgium
• 15:45    Activities on european level to set up a legal framework for certification and use of UAS
  Ms E. Billen, BCAA, Belgian Civil Aviation Authority, Belgium
  

Friday 8 April 2011

• 09:00    Challenges for UAS operations in segregated and non-segregated airspace
  Mr. P. Hopff, Belgocontrol, Belgium
• 10:45    Gatewing X100: a micro UAV for surveying and mapping
  Mr. P. Cosyn, Gatewing, Belgium
• 14:00    The Belgian MoD Hunter UAV system: system, overview, operations, safety of flights and airworthiness certification
  Mr.  R. Delogne, SONACA, Belgium
• 15:45    Concluding Remarks
  Prof. R. Decuypere
• 16:00    End of Lecture Series

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Location : von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics, Rhode-St-Genèse, Belgium

From 04.04.2011 to 08.04.2011