Canopy Formation Guidance Using Offset UAS Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Military free fall operations face challenges in navigating hostile environments with high cognitive load and the need for precise, stealthy landings at unknown impact points, especially under enemy air defenses, due to dynamic and unreliable conditions.
Innovation Solution
Integration of unmanned autonomous systems (UAS) deployed under canopy to provide navigational guidance, maintaining a preset offset distance and transmitting data for routing, approach, and landing information to lead parachutists, using sensors and communication systems for real-time environmental data and imagery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If free fall parachutists navigate through hostile airspace manually, then they maintain operational control, but cognitive load increases and precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
An autonomous UAS acts as an intermediary between the parachutist team and the hostile environment, handling navigation and obstacle avoidance tasks. The UAS processes environmental data and routing information autonomously, providing guidance to the parachutists without requiring them to directly process complex navigation decisions, thereby reducing cognitive load while maintaining precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The UAS performs self-navigation and autonomous obstacle avoidance by independently processing environmental data and executing routing instructions. The system serves itself by autonomously determining its position, identifying threats, and adjusting its flight path without continuous human intervention, which reduces the cognitive burden on parachutists while maintaining high navigation precision.
2Adaptability or versatility
If parachutists deploy at high altitude for stealth, then insertion capability is enhanced, but navigation through hostile airspace becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The UAS receives and processes routing instructions and environmental data before the parachutists begin their descent through hostile airspace. By pre-planning the navigation path and identifying potential threats in advance, the system reduces the complexity of real-time navigation decisions required during the high-altitude stealth insertion phase.
Solution Approach 2:
The UAS continuously monitors environmental data and compares it against the planned routing, providing real-time feedback on the team's position and potential threats. This feedback loop allows the system to adjust navigation dynamically while maintaining the overall stealth insertion strategy, managing complexity through continuous information processing rather than complex pre-planning alone.
3Ease of operation
If autonomous UAS is deployed for navigation, then cognitive load on parachutists is reduced, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UAS is designed as a multi-functional system that simultaneously performs navigation, obstacle avoidance, environmental monitoring, and communication with the parachutist team. By consolidating these functions into a single autonomous platform, the system reduces the operational complexity for parachutists while managing overall system complexity through integration rather than multiplication of separate systems.
Data Source
AI summary
Various embodiments are directed to systems, apparatus and methods for controlling canopy formations approaching a desired impact point (DIP) such as by maintaining a preset offset distance in front of and below a lead parachutist while navigating toward the DIP along a prescribed route. The UAS may operate independently with upload of a pre-planned routing structure or be controlled by a remote control site with access to environmental data, maps, and surveillance footage.