A Feasibility Study of a Persistent Monitoring System for the Flight Deck of U.S. Navy Aircraft Carriers

<p>This research analyzes the use of modern Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) to improve the safety of aircraft equipment and personnel onboard a United States Navy (USN) aircraft carrier. The results of a detailed analysis of USN safety records since 1980 show that mishaps which could potentially be prevented by a persistent monitoring system result in the death of a sailor nearly every other year and account for at least $92486469 or 5.55% of the total cost of all flight deck and hangar bay related mishaps. A system to continually monitor flight deck operations is proposed with four successive levels of increasing capability. A study of past and present work in the area of aircraft carrier flight deck operations is performed. This research conducted a study of the movements of USN personnel and an FA-18C aircraft being towed at NAS Oceana VA. Using two precision GPS recorders mounted on the aircraft wingtips the position and orientation of the aircraft in two-dimensions are calculated and the errors in this solution are explored. The distance between personnel and the aircraft is calculated in the nearest neighbor sense. Pseudospectral motion planning techniques are presented to provide route prediction for aircraft support equipment and personnel. Concepts for system components such as aircraft and personnel receivers are described. Methods to recognize and communicate the presence of hazardous situations are discussed. The end result of this research is the identification of performance requirements limitations and definition of areas of further research for the development of a flight deck persistent monitoring system with the capability to warn of hazardous situations ease the incorporation of UAVs and reduce the risk of death or injury faced by sailors on the flight deck.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p><br>