Dual Thread - Automatic Takeoff and Landing System (DT-ATLS)

R. Harker, J. Gilligan

Abstract:	This paper describes the safety-critical Dual Thread-Automatic Takeoff and Landing System (DT-ATLS) consisting of hardware and software designed to provide suitably equipped aircraft with a dual thread precision approach and landing capability at one or more runways. The current market focus is for unmanned air vehicles that currently use SNC's radar-based millimeter wave Takeoff and Landing System (TALS). The DT-ATLS is completed by adding to the conventional TALS; a DGPS based solution for land-based applications and a Real Time Kinematic (RTK) solution for sea-based applications. The DT-ATLS ground configuration provides a redundant system configuration including dual Management Information Processors (MIP) for interfacing the ground equipment to a UAV Ground Control Station (GCS). The result of adding GPS based processing is a landing system that greatly improves overall system availability for the PALS. This paper provides a brief introduction and concept overview of the DT-ATLS, discusses the novel use of GPS-based integrity and Built-In Test (BIT) algorithms to accurately evaluate the GPS solution, and provides a means to automatically switch from the RTK GPS solution to the radar based solution. The paper concludes with typical performance plots of flight test results, comparing the performance of the P(Y) code DGPS system and the tracking radar, compared against Kinematic Carrier Phase Tracking (KCPT) derived solution as truth. SNC is developing both land-based (DGPS) and seabased (RTK GPS) versions of the system.
Published in:	Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2006) September 26 - 29, 2006 Fort Worth Convention Center Fort Worth, TX
Pages:	1146 - 1150
Cite this article:	Harker, R., Gilligan, J., "Dual Thread - Automatic Takeoff and Landing System (DT-ATLS)," Proceedings of the 19th International Technical Meeting of the Satellite Division of The Institute of Navigation (ION GNSS 2006), Fort Worth, TX, September 2006, pp. 1146-1150.
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