Skip to main content
European Commission logo print header

Incremental Nonlinear flight Control supplemented with Envelope ProtecTION techniques

Project description

New approach to enhance aircraft safety takes flight

The world of aircraft control is changing thanks to recent breakthroughs in nonlinear control theory and sensor technology that are opening up new possibilities. The problem of heavy reliance on nominal aircraft model data is being addressed. The EU-funded INCEPTION project will merge the realms of advanced fault detection, online identification algorithms, and sensor-based control laws. By using self-reconfigurable mechanisms and control laws that are less sensitive to model mismatch, this project aims to provide an enhanced level of safety for future aircraft. Overall, INCEPTION aims to predict and adapt to safe flight regimes, even in the face of unknown and unprecedented failures. It will achieve this by developing generic flight control systems that can be applied across different aerial platforms.

Objective

Recent developments in the areas of nonlinear control theory and sensor technology paved the way to the derivation of flight control laws that are significantly less dependent on nominal aircraft model data. In addition, novel and complex methods which make use of advanced fault detection and online identification algorithms to estimate the aircraft’s achievable flight envelope and to provide protection in case of adverse conditions, such as system failures or damages are arising.

Project INCEPTION proposes to develop and combine the abovementioned research topics, exploring the INCEPTION of an innovative approach to the design of automatic flight control systems, supported by sensor-based (almost model-independent) control laws with the ability of online reconfiguration following failure scenarios.

By employing self-reconfigurable mechanisms and control laws that are less sensitive to model mismatch INCEPTION aims to provide an enhanced level of safety for future aircraft. The objective is to predict and adapt to safe flight regimes of operation, even in the presence of unprecedented and unknown failures, and to enable the development of generic flight control systems, applicable to different aerial platforms. These motivations are completely aligned with the European vision for aviation safety portrayed in the ACARE Flightpath 2050 Report, which envisages the prediction and mitigation of technical and operational issues through advanced on-board systems.

Project INCEPTION focuses on researching and developing the best approach to achieve the proposed targets, to implement it into a coherent system and to test its performance in Unmanned Aircraft and evaluate its future applicability to General and Commercial Aviation. To accomplish these tasks, the INCEPTION Consortium includes renowned universities within the domains addressed by the project, a company that develops advanced inertial sensors and an SME that engineers and operates its own UAV fleet.

Call for proposal

H2020-MG-2016-2017

See other projects for this call

Sub call

H2020-MG-2016-Two-Stages

Coordinator

TECHNISCHE UNIVERSITAET MUENCHEN
Net EU contribution
€ 606 350,00
Address
Arcisstrasse 21
80333 Muenchen
Germany

See on map

Region
Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost
€ 606 350,00

Participants (4)