ENGEL - Energy Efficient Flight Guidance

The design of pilot assistance systems and systems for automated flight guidance for helicopters with a focus on the controllability of challenging situations in mission profiles, take-offs and landings in unpaved and unknown terrain is always a compromise from an integration and certification perspective. In order to be able to land a rescue helicopter safely, emission- and energy-efficiently in an obstacle environment away from infrastructure, head-up pilot assistance systems with fail-safe landing symbology displayed on a partially transparent helmet-mounted display (HMD) can be used. Methods of visual augmentation with path planning and an associated option for automatic flight to landing of the helicopter have the potential to reduce helicopter pilot workload to acceptable levels during critical helicopter maneuvers near obstacles such as houses or power lines, including in poor visibility condition.

The aim is to use sensor fusion and visualization to extract relevant flight information and display it on a head-up display system. In addition, mission management and automated flying are to be combined with an “eyes out display concept” in a user-friendly way, guaranteeing optimized and safe flight guidance and monitoring by the pilots in forward flight, approach and landing zone, even under adverse weather conditions.

The composition of the TU Munich partners in the ENGEL joint project brings together experts from the two scientific disciplines of Rotorcraft and Vertical Flight and Informatics. Together, the project partners have an ideal mix of skills and resources to successfully carry out this challenging and interdisciplinary research project and to utilize it profitably for sustainable research.

Förderungsträger

Das Projekt ENGEL mit dem Untervorhaben APOLLON ist ein Verbundvorhaben im Rahmen des Luftfahrtforschungsprogramms Lufo VI, 3 und wird durch das das Bundesministerium für Wirschaft und Klimaschutz BMWK gefördert.