Event-Based Regime Recognition Accuracy

Abstract

Regime Recognition (RR) is a key enabling technology for a Usage Based Maintenance (UBM) program. If the estimated aircraft usage spectrum provided by such an RR algorithm is sufficiently accurate, then component life expenditure can be calculated as a function of the duration and number of occurrences of each flight regime. In general, production RR algorithms with the required accuracy have not been fielded, in part because of the challenges associated with Verification and Validation (V&V). In particular, the distinction between transient (event-based) regimes and steady-state (duration-based) regimes is an important consideration when defining performance metrics in a V&V process. While duration-based regimes lend themselves well to traditional analysis metrics that employ a confusion matrix, event-based regimes lack the error properties that make such analysis methods possible. In this paper we present analysis methods that address this deficiency and allow the use of well understood metrics derived from the traditional confusion matrix.