Albatross Information Review.pdf

Weather Tools

- NOAA (https://aviationweather.gov/gfa/#progchart) Standard weather briefing visualization tool.

- Windy (https://www.windy.com/) Standard for online sporting weather visualization.

- NOAA Skew-T Predictions (https://rucsoundings.noaa.gov/) Provided air column information on 40km grid (CONUS - Op40). Tutorials are available at (https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/upperair/skew-t-plots) and (https://www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/convective_parameters/skewt/skewtinfo.ht ml)

- Air Sports Net (https://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/#) Common local weather visualization.

- SkySight (https://skysight.io) This is a website specifically for soaring that has a thermal and mountain wave prediction tool.

Flight Planning

- DCAST (https://dcast.csd.disa.mil/schedule.php) DISA hosted airspace tool

- SkyVector (https://skyvector.com/) FAA charts visualization tool.

- Naviter (https://naviter.com) The SeeYou app is free for Android and works stand-alone or integrates with their Oudie N navigator. These tools help navigate between lift areas by computing best flat air penetration speed. The Oudie syncs to a phone for always current wind/weather info and functions as a data recorder.

Simulations

- Condor (https://www.condorsoaring.com) is a simulation that models realistic thermal, ridge, and wave effects. It is unclear how reconfigurable the sim is or the wind engine’s physical basis. Models are limited to Slovenia where it was developed, but a toolkit is available to extend the scene model to new areas with many supporters (such as https://www.condorworld.eu.)

- RealFlight (https://www.realflight.com/realflight-evolution-rc-flight-simulator/) Online reports discuss wind model, but the model has not been confirmed.

- X-plane (https://www.x-plane.com/) Large user base sim.

Controllers/Algorithms

- ArduPilot Plane (https://ardupilot.org/plane/index.html#) Open-source autopilot and GCS for sUAS.

Includes a terrain following and soaring capability. (https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/soaring-4_1.html)

- Pixhawk (https://pixhawk.org/) Standards group for AP hardware

- Navio (https://navio2.hipi.io/) Hardware support for AP

- ROS (https://www.ros.org/) OS layer for automation

- Metrology focused sensors (https://www.intermetsystems.com/products/imet-xf-uav-sensor/)

- StratoSoar MK2/3 Amateur glider (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiqkcGWG4g8) (https://github.com/crnicholson/StratoSoar-MK3)

Existing Platforms

- NASA Dryden Cloud Swift. PI: Michael J Allen, “Guidance and Control of an Autonomous Soaring UAV” (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20070005019/downloads/20070005019.pdf) 2007. Multiple papers:

(https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search?q=Autonomous%20Soaring)

- NRL

-- Solar Soaring Flyer (https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=9edb87de37cee744e4e48b7bdd72f https://aviationweather.gov/gfa/#progchart https://www.windy.com/ https://rucsoundings.noaa.gov/ https://www.noaa.gov/jetstream/upperair/skew-t-plots https://www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/convective_parameters/skewt/skewtinfo.html https://www.weather.gov/source/zhu/ZHU_Training_Page/convective_parameters/skewt/skewtinfo.html https://www.usairnet.com/cgi-bin/launch/ https://skysight.io/ https://dcast.csd.disa.mil/schedule.php https://skyvector.com/ https://naviter.com/ https://www.condorsoaring.com/ https://www.condorworld.eu/ https://www.realflight.com/realflight-evolution-rc-flight-simulator/ https://www.x-plane.com/ https://ardupilot.org/plane/index.html https://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/soaring-4_1.html https://pixhawk.org/ https://navio2.hipi.io/ https://www.ros.org/ https://www.intermetsystems.com/products/imet-xf-uav-sensor/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiqkcGWG4g8 https://github.com/crnicholson/StratoSoar-MK3 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20070005019/downloads/20070005019.pdf https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search?q=Autonomous%20Soaring https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=9edb87de37cee744e4e48b7bdd72f3464726021c

3464726021c) PI: Daniel J Edwards org. NCSU (https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2008-7244) Now with Vanilla UAV/Platform Aero (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_UAV) -- Hybrid Tiger UAS/POTION (https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Media/News/Article/2498102/nrls-hybrid-tiger-uav-soars-at-demonstration/) PI: Dr. Stearns Heinzen

- AFRL Ultra (https://afresearchlab.com/technology/ultra/) -- DZYNE (https://dzyne.com/)

- Kraus Hamdani K1000 ULE (https://khaero.com/)

- Microsoft Research Project Frigate (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-frigatebird-ai-for-autonomous-soaring/overview/) Research based soaring with open source information.

-- POMDSoar that deliberatively plans thermal exploration and exploitation (https://arxiv.org/pdf/1805.09875.pdf) -- ArduSoar strengths and limitations (https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.08215) -- Github repository (https://github.com/Microsoft/Frigatebird) -- https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/autonomous-soaring-ai-on-the-fly/ Andrey Kolobov

- Penn State PI: Jack Langelaan (https://www.aero.psu.edu/jack/)

- ETH Zurich AtlantikSolar (https://www.atlantiksolar.ethz.ch/) -- “Design of small hand-launched solar-powered UAVs: From concept study to a multi-day world endurance record flight” Philipp Oettershagen, Amir Melzer, Thomas Mantel, Konrad Rudin, Thomas Stastny, Bartosz Wawrzacz, Timo Hinzmann, Stefan Leutenegger, Kostas Alexis, Roland Siegwart.

(https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rob.21717) -- “Real-time 3D wind field prediction onboard UAVs for safe flight in complex terrain” (https://www.atlantiksolar.ethz.ch/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AeroConf_SolarUAVlOnboardWindFieldPrediction_preprint.pdf)

- ETH Zurich WindSeer/Project Altair (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47778-4) real-time volumetric wind prediction over complex terrain aboard a small uncrewed aerial vehicle.

(https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/video/project-altair-infrared-vision-and-ai-decision-making-for-longer-drone-flights/) Design of small hand-launched solar-powered UAVs: From concept study to a multi-day world endurance record flight (https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/242732)

Groups/Social

- Soaring Society of America (https://www.ssa.org/where-to-fly-map/) US-based organization for manned gliders based on local club model.

- WeGlide (https://www.weglide.org/) Online community for posting flights. Could be very useful for identifying common flying areas or data mined for creating an AI tool that maps terrain features to expected lift.

- Online Contest (https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/segelflugszene/index.html) a community heavily supported by German speakers.

Soaring – General

- Technical Soaring Journal (https://journals.sfu.ca/ts/index.php/ts/index) OSTIV (https://www.ostiv.org/)

- Soaring Magazine (https://magazine.ssa.org/)

- FAA Glider Handbook https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/glider_handbook

- GA soaring, 1975 (https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19760003940/downloads/19760003940.pdf)

- Pete Carpenter (https://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-gliders.html) Layman definitions of soaring and typical amateur tools/aircraft.

https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/document?repid=rep1&type=pdf&doi=9edb87de37cee744e4e48b7bdd72f3464726021c https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6.2008-7244 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanilla_UAV https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Media/News/Article/2498102/nrls-hybrid-tiger-uav-soars-at-demonstration/ https://www.nrl.navy.mil/Media/News/Article/2498102/nrls-hybrid-tiger-uav-soars-at-demonstration/ https://afresearchlab.com/technology/ultra/ https://dzyne.com/ https://khaero.com/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-frigatebird-ai-for-autonomous-soaring/overview/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-frigatebird-ai-for-autonomous-soaring/overview/ https://arxiv.org/pdf/1805.09875.pdf https://arxiv.org/abs/1802.08215 https://github.com/Microsoft/Frigatebird https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/autonomous-soaring-ai-on-the-fly/ https://www.aero.psu.edu/jack/ https://www.atlantiksolar.ethz.ch/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rob.21717 https://www.atlantiksolar.ethz.ch/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AeroConf_SolarUAVlOnboardWindFieldPrediction_preprint.pdf https://www.atlantiksolar.ethz.ch/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/AeroConf_SolarUAVlOnboardWindFieldPrediction_preprint.pdf https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47778-4 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/video/project-altair-infrared-vision-and-ai-decision-making-for-longer-drone-flights/ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/video/project-altair-infrared-vision-and-ai-decision-making-for-longer-drone-flights/ https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/242732 https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/242732 https://www.ssa.org/where-to-fly-map/ https://www.weglide.org/ https://www.onlinecontest.org/olc-3.0/segelflugszene/index.html https://journals.sfu.ca/ts/index.php/ts/index https://www.ostiv.org/ https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/glider_handbook https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19760003940/downloads/19760003940.pdf https://www.rc-airplane-world.com/rc-gliders.html

Thermal Soaring

- MacCready original article (https://soaringweb.org/Soaring_Index/1958/PDF/1958_Jan-Feb_10.pdf)

- “Thermal Centering Control for Autonomous Soaring; Stability Analysis and Flight Test Results” Klas Andersson NPS (https://doi.org/10.2514/1.51691)

- “Generalized Model of a Long-Endurance Aircraft for Fuel-Optimal Guidance” Vladimir Dobrokhodov NPS (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2024-1014)

- Autonomous Soaring for Improved Endurance of a Small Uninhabitated Air Vehicle (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2005-1025)

- “Glider soaring via reinforcement learning in the field”, Gautam Reddy, et al.

(https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0533-0)

- “Control of a High Endurance UAV” Wharington, et al. RMIT 1998 (https://www.icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/ICAS1998/PAPERS/371.PDF)

- Visual thermal soaring. (https://theses.hal.science/tel-01699484/ )

Convergence Soaring

- Article (https://chessintheair.com/convergence/ )

Ridge Soaring

- AUS RMIT/DSTG “Emulating avian orographic soaring” Alex Fisher et al 2016 Bioinspir.

Biomim. 11 016002 (https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/11/1/016002)

- “A feasibility study of micro air vehicles soaring tall buildings” C. White (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2012.02.012)

Dynamic Soaring

- “Upwind dynamic soaring of albatrosses and UAVs” Philip L. Richardson, 2014 Progress in Oceanography (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.11.002)

- Use of the boundary layer profile alone for dynamic soaring “On the feasibility of the Rayleigh cycle for dynamic soaring trajectories”, David Alexandre, et al. (https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229746)

- Stanford 2011 development of Mariner 2.5m glider.

(https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:hp877by7094/thesisBower-fixed-augmented.pdf)

- Control Theory, Bird and Langelaan (https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2014-0263)

- College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Hunan, PR China (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0954410015572267)

- Gabriel Bousquet Dynamic Soaring – MIT (https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dVJzk8IAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate)

Dynamic Soaring – High Altitude/Jet Stream

- Optimal Energy Extraction During Dynamic Jet Stream Soaring (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2010-8036) Joachim Grenestedt and John Spletzer, AIAA 2010-8036

- Dynamic Soaring in Shear Wind Regions Associated with Jet Streams PI: Gotfried Sachs, TUM, (https://journals.sfu.ca/ts/index.php/ts/article/view/172/157)

- Perlan Project https://perlanproject.org/ CTP: Jim Payne https://photorecon.net/gliding-the-polar-vortex-the-perlan-ii/

- AFIT 2006 Crewed Aircraft (https://scholar.afit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4580&context=etd )

Local Weather Prediction

- “Improving High-Impact Numerical Weather Prediction with Lidar and Drone Observations” Daniel Leuenberger, et al. (https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0119.1) https://soaringweb.org/Soaring_Index/1958/PDF/1958_Jan-Feb_10.pdf https://doi.org/10.2514/1.51691 https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2024-1014 https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2005-1025 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0533-0 https://www.icas.org/ICAS_ARCHIVE/ICAS1998/PAPERS/371.PDF https://theses.hal.science/tel-01699484/ https://chessintheair.com/convergence/ https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/11/1/016002 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jweia.2012.02.012 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.11.002 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229746 https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:hp877by7094/thesisBower-fixed-augmented.pdf https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/pdf/10.2514/6.2014-0263 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0954410015572267 https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dVJzk8IAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2010-8036 https://journals.sfu.ca/ts/index.php/ts/article/view/172/157 https://perlanproject.org/ https://photorecon.net/gliding-the-polar-vortex-the-perlan-ii/ https://photorecon.net/gliding-the-polar-vortex-the-perlan-ii/ https://scholar.afit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4580&context=etd https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0119.1

- “Wind sensing with drone-mounted wind lidars: proof of concept” Nikola Vasiljevic, et al.

(https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-521-2020)

- “Wind Sensing and Estimation Using Small Fixed-Wing UAVs: A Survey” Pengzhi Tian, et al.

Robust Planning under Model Uncertainty

- Robust and Adaptive Planning under Model Uncertainty Apoorva Sharma, James Harrison, Matthew Tsao, Marco Pavone, Stanford University https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICAPS/article/view/3505/3373

- “Optimal Flight Paths for Soaring Flight” D. Metzger, ASU (https://doi.org/10.2514/3.59886)

Soaring Birds

- “Opportunistic soaring by birds suggests new opportunities for atmospheric energy harvesting by flying robots” A. Mohamed, et al. (https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0671)

- “In-Flight Measurement of Dynamic Soaring in Albatrosses” Gottfried Sachs, Johannes Traugott and Florian Holzapfel, Published Online:26 Jun 2012 (https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2010-8035)

- “Flight speed and performance of the wandering albatross with respect to wind” Philip L. Richardson1, Ewan D. Wakefield and Richard A. Phillips (https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9)

- “How do albatrosses fly around the world without flapping their wings?” Richardson (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2010.08.001)

- “Observations and models of across-wind flight speed of the wandering albatross”, Philip L. Richardson and Ewan D. Wakefield (https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211364)

- “LEONARDO DAVINCI’S DISCOVERY OF THE DYNAMIC SOARING BY BIRDS IN WIND SHEAR” Philip L.

Richardson (https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2018.0024)

- “Heart rate and estimated energy expenditure of flapping and gliding in blackbrowed albatrosses” Kentaro Sakamoto (https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.079905) https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-521-2020 https://ojs.aaai.org/index.php/ICAPS/article/view/3505/3373 https://doi.org/10.2514/3.59886 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2022.0671 https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2010-8035 https://doi.org/10.1186/s40462-018-0121-9 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2010.08.001 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211364 https://doi.org/10.1098/rsnr.2018.0024 https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.079905