GLTRS--Glenn
TITLE AND SUBTITLE:
Autonomous Civil Aircraft-Are They the Future of Aviation?

AUTHOR(S):
Herman A. Rediess and Sanjay Garg

REPORT DATE:
December 2006

FUNDING NUMBERS:
WBS 732759.03.01.02.17

PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field
Cleveland, Ohio 44135-3191

PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT NUMBER:
E-15766

SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES):
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Washington, DC 20546-0001

REPORT TYPE AND DATES COVERED:
Technical Memorandum

SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY REPORT NUMBER:
NASA TM-2006-214474

SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES:
Herman A. Rediess, National Institute of Aerospace, 100 Exploration Way, Hampton, Virginia 23666; and Sanjay Garg, Glenn Research Center. Responsible person, Sanjay Garg, organization code RIC, 216-433-2685.

ABSTRACT:
As the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry prepared to make its final recommendations, the Hon. Robert Walker, Chairman of the Commission, stated that the nation should consider possibilities that are too radical for current lawmakers to openly discuss--"As an example, I would hope that in our vision we would talk about the idea of maybe flying passengers on [pilotless] aircraft in the future. . . and having an air traffic management system which is so robust that it makes that possible." This article tries to address the issue of whether autonomous civil aircraft are the future of aviation? What is meant by the term "autonomous civil aircraft" is described followed by the discussion of the case "for" and "against" such aircraft. The technology and operational challenges to enable autonomous civil aircraft are then described. The article concludes with a suggested roadmap for making this future vision a reality.

SUBJECT TERMS:
Autonomous aircraft; Air traffic management; Intelligent control; Mission planning

NUMBER OF PAGES:
14

PDF AVAILABLE FROM URL:
2006/TM-2006-214474.pdf ( 353 KB )
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