We will develop an initial capability that will allow dynamic optimization between mission performance and acoustic signature for a representative tilt-wing vtol vehicle with distributed electric…

This federal contract award is a $750,000.00 cooperative agreement between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the University of Illinois, a public land-grant research university located in Urbana, Illinois. The contract is focused on developing an initial capability to dynamically optimize between mission performance and acoustic signature for a representative tilt-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle with distributed electric propulsion, while incorporating collision avoidance algorithms. The research will also consider off-nominal conditions such as propulsion failures, moving obstacles, and severe gusts, as well as uncertainties associated with obstacle detection, acoustic signature, and propulsive efficiency. Two types of optimization frameworks will be explored - one in a non-zero-sum game formulation where the objectives are not in conflict, and another in a zero-sum game formulation where the goals are to minimize acoustic signature and time to destination. The contract does not have a set-aside designation.

We will develop an initial capability that will allow dynamic optimization between mission performance and acoustic signature for a representative tilt-wing vtol vehicle with distributed electric propulsion while incorporating collision avoidance algorithms that retain original mission objectives. We will consider off-nominal conditions that include propulsion failures, moving obstacles and severe gusts. We will also incorporate uncertainties associated with detection of obstacles, acoustic signature, and propulsive efficiency. Two types of optimization frameworks will be explored. The first one will be formulated in the spirit of non-zero SUM game, where the interest in the two objectives will not be in conflict, e.g. maintain certain acoustic signature and to get to a destination within a large time window. The second formulation will be formulated within the spirit of zero-SUM game, e.g. minimize acoustic signature and minimize time to destination. In case of propulsive failure, because there is redundancy of propulsion devices, IT might still be possible to optimize between minimum acoustic signature and safe aircraft flight with slightly degraded performance.