On the design of a UAS flight plan monitoring and edition system

Abstract

This paper addresses various aspects of the design and development of the pilot interface for the exploitation of highly advanced flight plan capabilities specifically designed for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). This flight plan capabilities are built on top a flexible and reusable hardware/software architecture designed to facilitate the development of UAS-based applications. This flexibility is organized into an user-parameterizable UAS Service Abstraction Layer (USAL). The USAL defines a collection of standard services are their interrelations as a basic starting point for further development by UAS users. Previous research presented the advanced flying capabilities of a UAS as an extension of the Flight Control System (FCS) functionalities. Assuming a UAS with a FCS that ensures safe and stable maneuvers, we complement it with a highly capable flight plan management system.