Abstract

The increasing complexity of aircraft and air traffic has also increased the demands and stress on a pilot flying an airplane. To ease the workload on pilots and even take some of the tasks away from the attention of the pilot, research is in progress to filter the data shown to a pilot. In addition, some of the tasks are automatically performed by systems supporting the pilot. This may prevent disasters because of human errors and mistakes in judgment of the situation.

This report tries to answer the question: Is it possible for an automated pilot to fly an airplane in a way resembling human pilot behaviour? There are many automatic pilots that can fly an airplane, but most of them do not mimic human behaviour and have the same limitations humans have regarding, for instance, attention resources. The system designed in this project has the condition set specifically to support research projects focussed on testing human pilot behaviour under certain (critical) conditions. The project starts with research on the manner in which human pilots interpret and respond to input cues provided by the instruments in the cockpit and visual cues outside the cockpit. A model is presented about the information processing and decision-making process of the pilot. Before the flight, a pilot is briefed about the details regarding the flight plan. The system designed in this project does this by analysing the flight plan, which is entered by a supervising person, carefully and converting it into a script of tasks and flight procedures that can be performed consecutively or, in some cases, concurrently. The robot that executes the flight is now easily able to interpret the script. Furthermore, it is designed according to the behaviour and constraints in the model that was discussed previously of human pilots.

The system’s architecture is set up in a modular way to supports future extensions to the project. In addition to the research, a knowledge base had been set up, which describes the tasks and flight procedures a pilot is able to perform during a flight. The tasks and procedures are executed according the script that is generated before take off. The knowledge has been stored in the standard XML format for use by the system.

The prototype interfaces with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2002 to fly a Cessna 172SP Skyhawk. Finally, while the first prototype is still in an early phase, it is a first proof of concept. The robot performed well. Although it is not yet an advanced pilot incorporating complex artificial intelligence, it is able to execute a simple flight plan in normal environmental conditions.