Research Projects

To address the challenges associated with operating and managing small aircraft in cluttered low-altitude airspaces, we are developing theoretical and computational tools that enable prediction and exploitation of low-altitude gust information for autonomous aircraft operations. We will also evaluate the feasibility of the developed tools in relevant operational environments. We envision a future concept of operation (CONOP) where aircraft traffic, together with weather service providers, collaboratively collect wind measurements that are used to recommend necessary waypoint and trajectory adjustment to the pilots, who make decisions to accept or decline the adjustments. We expect that such a CONOP significantly enhances the efficiency and safety of current aircraft operations while improving piloting experience by providing better awareness of likely gust events and recommending wind-aware paths that are fuel-efficient and pilot-friendly.

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