Design and implementation of a State-Estimation system utilizing a low-cost distributed sensor array

In recent years, an extensive effort supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been undertaken to rejuvenate the declining general aviation (GA) industry in the United States. One area of emphasis is in the development of advanced flight systems capable of simplifying the operation of GA aircraft in all weather conditions, opening new markets to the GA industry by making viable the use of private aircraft as transportation. Presented herein is a description of the design and plan for proof of concept of a state estimation system utilizing a low-cost distributed sensor array. This system will be used as the primary source of information for a decoupled flight control system on a V4 scale remotely piloted model aircraft named Aladdin, an entry in a student design competition sponsored by NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and the Air Force. The state estimation system includes the incorporation of emerging technologies in the area of sensors and data processing, with redundancy achieved through dissimilar distributed sensor arrays.