World AirNews June 2018

ILA BERLIN
NEWS DIGITAL
Small South African University Fosters
Innovation and Safety in General Aviation
SA STUDENTS USE ICT TO
PROPEL AVIATION SECTOR
By Candice Turner
Manned-UnManned
TeaMing CapabiliTies
deMOnsTRaTed
A
IRBUS HELICOPTERS and Schiebel have tested Manned
Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) capabilities between an
H145 platform and a CAMCOPTER S-100 Unmanned Air System
(UAS), becoming the first European helicopter manufacturer to
demonstrate this technology with the highest level of interoperability.
(LOI°5).
The companies carried out test flights with the support of the
Austrian Armaments and Defence Technology Agency.
The two aircraft jointly flew different scenarios including the
detection of objects hidden in places not accessible by traditional
helicopters. The S-100 was controlled and piloted by an operator
sitting in the helicopter. During the flights, the control was also
temporarily handed over to a ground-based control station by the
pilot in order to simulate the return of the manned helicopter for
refuelling.
The trials carried out by Airbus Helicopters and Schiebel went
up to MUM-T LOI 5. This allows the manned platform to exercise
full control of the UAS including its take-off and landing. LOI 1, the
lowest level, is the indirect receipt and /or transmission of sensor
data obtained by the UAS to the manned aircraft.
“Manned-Unmanned Teaming multiplies the capabilities of both
systems”, said Mark R.Henning programme manager at Airbus
Helicopters. “Smaller UAS with vertical take-off and landing
capabilities can, for example, fly around obstacles such as trees or
buildings closer than a helicopter could. They are able to explore
unknown territory and deliver information to the helicopter crew
which is operating from a safe position and which can then step
in with the helicopter’s superior effects, having received a clear
picture from the UAS.
“Our airborne MUM-T management system will become a highly
attractive feature for our entire product range including the NH90,
NFH, and the Tiger together with the H145 as it adds an extremely
valuable operational capability. The MUM-T capability can be implemented
in any kind of helicopter and can interact with all types
of unmanned systems, in particular Airbus Helicopters’ new VSR
700 UAS,” Henning explained.
In the framework of the test, the challenges of data transfer
interference and electromagnetic compatibility of the UAS with
the helicopter, as well as the integration of a complete UAS mission
planning and control system into the helicopter’s architecture
were successfully managed. The S-100 mission planning and control
system was provided by Schiebel.
The next step will be to optimize the human machine interface
based on a thorough analysis of the crew workload using the results
of the flight tests. Q
N
EVER UNDERESTIMATE the creativity and potential of a
young mind. These were the words Jan Rombouts, the
Chairman of Belgium Campus, told teachers and students recently
while they were sitting in an airplane hangar in Pretoria, built for
an innovative group of technology students.
Located on the outskirts of Pretoria, the Technology University
is a far cry from sheer scale of the headquarters or innovation hub
for Tesla or even Blue Origin. And yet, it is here, in a small South
African suburb, that the future of aviation is emerging.
When one meets the chairman and his young team of whizz kids,
top of mind is a question of why an IT University is building an
aircraft? “IT has become a part of everything,” Rombouts begins,
tinkering with some cables on the aircraft’s wing. “The world runs
on innovative ideas and ICT is the platform that endorses the
manifestation of these ideas. Information Technology is, after all,
an enabler.”
True, one of the greatest credos of this age of technology has
to be the dexterity with which IT adapts to other disciplines. And
here, in this remarkable hanger-come-workshop, it becomes ever
apparent. The chairman and project leader goes on to explain how
the students at Belgium Campus have been fortunate enough to
work with top universities and companies across the globe, from
the United States to Australia; from developing facial recognition
technology for drones to innovation projects with Boeing and
Lockheed Martin. “As an aviator myself, and someone who thrives
on innovation, we sat together as a team when we had come back
from a recent project with Boeing and seriously began to consider
the possibility of building our very own plane, and here we are
today.”
ENVIRONMENT TO FLOURISH
Walking through the hangar, the team of students pointed out the
other innovations currently underway and how no expense had
been spared to ensure they have everything they need to explore
their ideas and visions; illustrating the university’s passion for the
ICT sector and the kinetic power and influence at its command.
The management and academic team believe that through empowering
their students to innovate and revolutionise their worlds,
many more astonishing solutions flow through the campus that will
greatly benefit every type of industry and sector.
One such undertaking is their Aeronautics Project where
students are given access to the field of aeronautics and have a
full-scale airport hangar at their disposal. “They’ve explored every-
World Airnews | June Extra 2018
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World Airnews | June Extra 2018
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