Aerospace Medicine Technical Reports
FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-07/8
Title and Subtitle: An Assessment of Pilot Control Interfaces for Unmanned Aircraft
Report Date: April 2007
Authors: Williams KW
Abstract: An inventory of control systems for unmanned aircraft was completed for 15 systems from nine separate manufacturers. To complete the inventory, a taxonomy of control architectures was developed. The taxonomy identified four levels of horizontal aircraft control, four levels of vertical control, and three levels of speed control.
The most automated level of control was a waypoint-level that was found to be present in all of the systems inventoried. Implications of these levels of control on design are discussed.
Key Words: Unmanned Aircraft, UA, UAV, Control Station, Controls, Cockpit Design
No. of Pages: 16
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-07/8
Title and Subtitle: An Assessment of Pilot Control Interfaces for Unmanned Aircraft
Report Date: April 2007
Authors: Williams KW
Abstract: An inventory of control systems for unmanned aircraft was completed for 15 systems from nine separate manufacturers. To complete the inventory, a taxonomy of control architectures was developed. The taxonomy identified four levels of horizontal aircraft control, four levels of vertical control, and three levels of speed control.
The most automated level of control was a waypoint-level that was found to be present in all of the systems inventoried. Implications of these levels of control on design are discussed.
Key Words: Unmanned Aircraft, UA, UAV, Control Station, Controls, Cockpit Design
No. of Pages: 16
Last updated: Friday, June 1, 2012