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Case Study: Test Results of a Tool and Method for In-Flight, Adaptive Control System Verification on a NASA F-15 Flight Research AircraftAdaptive control technologies that incorporate learning algorithms have been proposed to enable autonomous flight control and to maintain vehicle performance in the face of unknown, changing, or poorly defined operating environments [1-2]. At the present time, however, it is unknown how adaptive algorithms can be routinely verified, validated, and certified for use in safety-critical applications. Rigorous methods for adaptive software verification end validation must be developed to ensure that. the control software functions as required and is highly safe and reliable. A large gap appears to exist between the point at which control system designers feel the verification process is complete, and when FAA certification officials agree it is complete. Certification of adaptive flight control software verification is complicated by the use of learning algorithms (e.g., neural networks) and degrees of system non-determinism. Of course, analytical efforts must be made in the verification process to place guarantees on learning algorithm stability, rate of convergence, and convergence accuracy. However, to satisfy FAA certification requirements, it must be demonstrated that the adaptive flight control system is also able to fail and still allow the aircraft to be flown safely or to land, while at the same time providing a means of crew notification of the (impending) failure. It was for this purpose that the NASA Ames Confidence Tool was developed [3]. This paper presents the Confidence Tool as a means of providing in-flight software assurance monitoring of an adaptive flight control system. The paper will present the data obtained from flight testing the tool on a specially modified F-15 aircraft designed to simulate loss of flight control faces.
Document ID
20060046374
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Jacklin, Stephen A.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Schumann, Johann
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA, United States)
Guenther, Kurt
(NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, CA, United States)
Bosworth, John
(NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Edwards, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
August 23, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2006
Subject Category
Air Transportation And Safety
Meeting Information
Meeting: 7th World Congress on Computational Mechanics Minisymposium: Accomplishments and Challenges in Verification and Validation
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: July 16, 2006
End Date: July 21, 2006
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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