Demonstration of Autonomous Differential Throttle-based Flight Control for Aircraft with Distributed Electric Propulsion

One of the three commercialization strategies envisioned by ESAero for the proposed autonomous controller technology and the IAC product it would be a part of is to develop and integrate an IAC for NASA’s X-57 “Maxwell” aircraft. There are presently no active efforts by NASA to integrate health-aware, autonomous flight control capability on NASA’s X-57 Maxwell aircraft despite the fact that most subject matter experts on DEP agree that such a technology is strongly recommended for safe and efficient operation. Introduction of an IAC could benefit the SCEPTOR mission objectives through risk probability and criticality reduction, improving cruise efficiency, and by fostering the validation and demonstration of an enabling technology for future commercial DEP aircraft. Additional potential NASA commercial applications are known to be numerous but have not yet been specifically identified. The topics of DEP, PAI, OpenVSP, and autonomy relate to Strategic Thrusts 3a, 4, and 6 of the ARMD and have ties to several NASA programs including TACP, AAVP, AOSP, and IASP through projects including CAS, TTT, AATT, SASO, and UAS in the NAS. As an engineering services contractor with close ties to all aeronautics centers of NASA, ESAero will actively pursue follow-on efforts to leverage its newfound core competencies and intellectual property in support of any these programs and projects.

ESAero has targeted the rapidly growing Urban Air Mobility (UAM) market led by Uber for the eventual Non-NASA commercialization of the IAC technology and product. The eVTOL aircraft being developed for this market features many of the hallmark characteristics that call for IAC technology, including numerous high-power electric propulsors, DEP-based control concepts, and strong PAI-related dynamical complexities. Additionally, autonomous systems have already been identified by Uber Elevate as a future feature of their fleet, owing to their superior safety and operating costs. ESAero’s end-goal for this path of commercialization is to sell or license the IAC technology to Uber and/or one or more of the aircraft developers in the UAM market. Post-Phase II activities needed to enter this market include the development and demonstration of the IAC technology on a larger aircraft with features matching that of eVTOL aircraft, such as Uber Elevate’s eCRM-001 concept, to increase the TRL to 7 and attract the interest of airframes in the eVTOL community. ESAero intends to leverage their strong relationship with Uber and/or their partners to secure funding for this first activity. The next milestone will be to attract strategic investment from Uber or their partners to fund additional RDT&E needed to achieve TRL 8&9 for the IAC in time for adoption of autonomous flight in the Uber Air fleet in the early-to-mid 2020’s. More »