No abstract

SUMMARYThis paper treats the design of a decentralized nonlinear robust control system for formation flying of multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In close formation, it is assumed that vortex of any UAV affects the motion of all the UAVs behind it. The forces produced by these vortices are complex functions of relative position co-ordinates of the UAVs. In this paper, these forces are treated as unknown functions, which cannot be parameterized. Since the system is not invertible in the wind axes system, a simplified coordinate system obtained from the wind axes system for which the velocity roll (bank angle) is zero, is considered for the design of the control system. A nonlinear robust control system for the separation trajectory control of the wing aircraft in the simplified wind coordinate system is derived. Uncertain functions and unmeasured variables are estimated using a high-gain observer for the synthesis of the control system. Each wing UAV synthesizes its control law using its own state variables and the relative position of the preceding UAV with respect to the wing UAV. Thus the control system is decentralized since each UAV has to communicate (depending on sensors for position measurement) with at most one (preceding) UAV, and no data transmission from the remaining vehicles is required. Simulation results for two UAVs are presented which show precise separation trajectory control of each wing UAV in spite of the presence of unknown and unstructured vortex forces, while the lead aircraft maneuvers. Furthermore, these results confirm that when the wing aircraft is positioned properly in the vortex of the lead aircraft, it experiences reduction in its required flight power.

No abstract

Amorphous- and nanocrystalline-silicon thin-film photovoltaic modules are made in high-throughput manufacturing lines that necessitate quickly cleaning the reactor. Using NF₃, a potent greenhouse gas, as the cleaning agent triggered concerns as recent reports reveal that the atmospheric concentrations of this gas have increased significantly. We quantified the life-cycle emissions of NF₃ in photovoltaic (PV) manufacturing, on the basis of actual measurements at the facilities of a major producer of NF₃ and of a manufacturer of PV end-use equipment. From these, we defined the best practices and technologies that are the most likely to keep worldwide atmospheric concentrations of NF₃ at very low radiative forcing levels. For the average U.S. insolation and electricity-grid conditions, the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from manufacturing and using NF₃ in current PV a-Si and tandem a-Si/nc-Si facilities add 2 and 7 g CO₂(eq)/kWh, which can be displaced within the first 1-4 months of the PV system life.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has an ongoing investigation to evaluate the behavior of Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SAVs) and Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) flying through an urban setting. This research is being conducted through the Cooperative Operations in UrbaN TERrain (COUNTER) 6.2 research and flight demonstration program. COUNTER is a theoretical and experimental program to develop the technology needed to integrate a single SAV, four MAVs, and a human operator for persistent intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance for obscured targets in an urban environment. The research involves development of six-degree-of-freedom models for integration into simulations, modeling and integration of wind data for complex urban flows, cooperative control task assignment and path planning algorithms, video tracking and obstacle avoidance algorithms, and an Operator Vehicle Interface (OVI) system. The COUNTER concept and the contributing technologies will be proven via a series of flight tests and system demonstrations.The first of six planned COUNTER flight demonstrations occurred in July of 2005. This demonstration focused on the simultaneous flight operations of both the SAV and the MAV while displaying their respective telemetry data on a common ground station (OVI). Current efforts are focused on developing the architecture for the Cooperative Control Algorithm. In FY 2006, the COUNTER program will demonstrate the ability to pass vehicle waypoints from the OVI station to the SAV and MAV vehicles. In FY 2007, the COUNTER program will focus on integrating solutions to the optical target tracking (SAV) and obstacle avoidance (MAV) issues into the capabilities of the OVI station and Cooperative Control Algorithm.