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| Figure 1. Otto Pilot, the worlds greatest autopilot (Airplane!, 2017) |
Manned Aircraft Autoland Airbus A330
For the Autoland system
to be operational there are several requirements:
·
Functioning
autopilot
·
2/3 functioning
hydraulic systems
·
Functioning
autothurst
·
Radio Altimeter
·
Nose Wheel
Steering System
·
Autobrake system
·
Two functioning
ILS receivers
·
Functioning
instruments to pilots can monitor airspeed, attitude, altitude
·
Announcement
capability so the aircraft can notify the pilots if something is wrong
The Autoland for the A330
can execute the full approach to the runway to include braking and steering to
stay on the runway after landing without pilot input. The A330 uses it’s
fly-by-wire system to control rudder, flaps and slats to adjust the aircrafts
airspeed/altitude/attitude following an ILS approach to the ground (How Does a
Plane, 2017). The auto thruster will retard the throttle on
the engines after landing, but the pilots are required per the checklist to
still manually retard the controls so thrust levers match thrust demand. Announcement
systems are required so the pilot is aware of any issues, such as a failure of the
autobraking system, the pilot would then be required to manually control the
brakes, same is true for the Nose Wheel Steering System (Autoland 2017).
The Autoland feature
should be fully automated as it currently is. It should also be able to be
disabled by the pilots at any time in order to manually conduct the landing,
this is the case currently. It should also maintain its alert/announcement
capability to warn the pilots if there is an issue and the Autoland system may
not be functioning properly.
Unmanned Aircraft DJI Phantom 4
The automatic landing
feature on the DJI Phantom 4 will automatically occur under certain situations.
When the low battery level warning activates an audible alarm is sent through
the controller for the user to hear. The
Phantom will return to home automatically if no action is taken by the operator
after 10 seconds. “Home” is a GPS location set by the user during the start up
procedure of the Phantom. The operator can cancel the return to home if they
would like, but when the battery is low enough, critical low, the Phantom
determines it only has the power to descend from its current altitude. The Phantom uses 2 ultrasonic sensors and 4
monocular sensors to detect and avoid obstacles during any return to home
flight, as well as normal flight. The sensors can only pick up obstacles 60°
off the nose and 50° below. If an
obstacle is detected 65 feet ahead it will stop and hover, then ascend to at
least 16 feet above the obstacle, then continue its designated path (Phantom 4,
2016).
This system benefits from
being automated since it allows more users to be able to fly a drone with
little training, increasing the enjoyment for many and allowing those who never
thought they could fly a drone to be able to. This is also a safety feature
since the battery low return to home feature prevents the operator from
accidently crashing the Phantom because of a low battery. Collision avoidance
and return to home are excellent selling points for automation and should be
kept on all future models of the Phantom.
References
How Does a Plane Land on
Autopilot? (2017, February 16). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://thepointsguy.com/2017/02/how-a-plane-lands-on-autopilot/
Autoland. (2017,
September 22). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from
https://www.skybrary.aero/index.php/Autoland
Phantom 4 User Manual.
(2016, March). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from
https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/phantom_4/en/Phantom_4_User_Manual_en_v1.0.pdf
Airplane! (1980). (2017, August 20). Retrieved February 18, 2018, from https://www.moviehousememories.com/airplane-1980/
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