Grand challenges in intelligent aerospace systems
Kelly De Oliveira Cohen · Frontiers in Aerospace Engineering · 2023
2020, the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) ACE program'sAlphaDogfight Trials demonstrated an AI defeating an experienced F-16 flight pilot in a simulator.In the civilian aviation application arena, Morgan Stanley estimates that advanced air mobility (AAM), which is very dependent on assured autonomy, will have an addressable market of $4.4 tn by 2040 and $18.9 tn by 2050.The application areas for intelligent aerospace systems are ever growing and include the following.1) Autonomous Aircraft for Advanced Air Mobility, which operate without human intervention for duties such as task planning, obstacle avoidance, data collection, and decision making.2) Flight control and navigation systems driven by AI which enable precise navigation while analyzing real-time data for optimal path planning, energy efficient flight paths, and augmented safety.3) Maintenance and diagnostics systems that use health monitoring algorithms to predict potential issues, thereby circumventing operational problems by scheduling maintenance when needed and reducing downtime.4) Mission planning and execution assisted by AI, which can offer optimized trajectories and make real-time changes to adapt to changing conditions-also referred to as "unknown unknowns".5) Air traffic management enabled by AI which can manage an increasing number of flights and assure safe and efficient aircraft routing.Although these AI-driven developing capabilities have drawn much attention, a new can of worms has also been opened.There is a flow of important questions oozing out such as: Is AI reliable, safe, trustworthy, ethical, responsible, verifiable, robust, dependable, etc.?.With increased interest and the potential impact of AI on the aeronautical industry in terms of new capabilities and economic benefits, there is a clear and immediate need for research.The grand challenges that advance autonomy, described in part here, offer a unique set of opportunities for researchers across academia, federal agencies, and industry.The Intelligent Aerospace Systems section of Frontiers in Aerospace Engineering looks forward to supporting and disseminating research that addresses the current and future challenges on the path to realizing this immense potential.