Model-based analysis and cooperative synthesis of control and display augmentation for piloted flight vehicles

Sanjay Garg, Purdue University

Abstract

The thrust of this research is to develop and validate a systematic technique for pilot-optimal control/display synthesis in complex, closed-loop manual control tasks. The suggested methodology makes extensive use of an Optimal Control Model of human behavior, both for synthesis as well as analysis. Therefore, the use of the Optimal Control Modeling approach to adequately predict the effects of control/display interaction on human performance and workload, is first validated by performing a detailed model-based study of a set of configurations previously evaluated in an in-flight experimental study. The mathematical formulation of the Cooperative Control Synthesis technique is then extended to allow for simultaneously augmenting the display dynamics as well as plant or controlled element dynamics. The first order necessary conditions for the optimality of the control/display augmentation control laws are derived and a numerical solution algorithm is developed to solve for these control laws. The methodology is exercised to synthesize control and display augmentation in a compensatory tracking task with a generic controlled element. Analytical evaluations of the designs indicate the applicability of the methodology to meet pilot-centered requirements and to provide a task specific, systematic trade-off between control and display augmentation. An extensive real-time man-in-the-loop simulation study is performed to validate the results from the methodology. Excellent agreement is obtained between these experimental and analytical results. The importance of adjusting the sensitivity of the controlled plant to make it acceptable to the human controller was vividly brought forth in the experimental study. Finally, the utility of the methodology is demonstrated by synthesizing control-display designs in the longitudinal approach and landing task for a modern, statically unstable fighter-type aircraft. Analytical evaluations of the resulting designs indicate that the methodology provides a systematic approach to synthesizing pilot-optimal control and display augmentation within other system constraints such as display time delay in Head-up display, and control surface actuation limits.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Schmidt, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Aerospace materials

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