Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as the Air Force's Global Hawk and Predator are increasingly employed by the military in roles that require sharing airspace with civilian aircraft. Many civil applications of UAVs have also been proposed for tasks that include border patrols, highway and agricultural observation, and cargo transport. Due to the pressure for widespread access for UAVs and the risk of collision with passenger aircraft, the U.S. is rapidly facing serious safety concerns.

This seminar provides an overview of the safety issues of UAVs sharing airspace with passenger airplanes, including methods for evaluating and mitigating collision risk. The presentation will describe an initiative at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to assess the safety of one particular application, the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), on the Global Hawk UAV. TCAS is in use on all large passenger-carrying aircraft as an independent, last-resort collision-avoidance system. TCAS uses a set of sensors and algorithms to detect potential mid-air collisions, alert the flight crew, and provide guidance so that they can avoid a collision. Adapting TCAS to Global Hawk, which has unconventional flight characteristics and a pilot who may be thousands of miles away, creates challenges that require a thorough safety analysis before TCAS might be accepted by domestic and international communities.

This seminar describes the overall approach to safety analysis, including the use of fast-time simulation of UAVs and conventional air traffic. Finally, extensions to future applications, such as onboard infrared, visual, or radar detection systems designed to "see and avoid" other aircraft, will be discussed.

Speaker: Dr. Mykel J. Kochenderfer
Affiliation: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
Date: Monday, 01 December 2008 (NOTE: this is the day after break!)
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.; Q&A session to follow
Location: 641 Dow

Biography:

Writing good essays is a rare talent that not everyone is gifted with. While there are a privileged few who can compose thought provoking and intellectually stimulating articles in a whim, majority needs to grasp for words just to communicate to the readers what they have in mind. Where the natural talent is lacking, determination and perseverance should come in.

Having tremendous coursework requirements setbacks a student from his or her life outside the academe. Missed social activities are common for students who need to work on their school tasks. Because of this, the student has no other option but to sacrifice one event to finish the courseworks.

Hi Everyone,

Just a friendly reminder that the IEEE will be hosting the first annual ECE Department Ping Pong Tournament this weekend! Come prepared to do battle against your engineering brethren!

We are extending the registration deadline to Friday at 5 PM. You must pre-register for this tournament. Registration forms are available in the department office and outside EERC 809. Drop off completed forms with your $2 entry fee in the department office.

The tournament will be held in the SDC Wood Gym on Saturday, November 1 from 1-6 PM. Refreshments, snacks, and pizza will be provided free for the competitors (available for purchase for everyone else)!

***Prizes***

1st: Trophy, ECE polo shirt and coffee mug.
2nd: ECE polo and coffee mug.
3rd: Coffee mug.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

IEEE-MTU Officers

Can YOU Change the World?
Show us how and you could win US$10,000!

Dear IEEE Student Members:

Are you working on a project - or have an idea - that will change the
world or a small corner of it? Then you or your team can enter to win
US$10,000 in the IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition.

The IEEE Presidents’ Change the World Competition, part of IEEE's 125th
Anniversary celebration, recognizes students or teams of students who
develop unique solutions to real-world problems using engineering,
science, computing and leadership skills to benefit their community or
humanity. Tell us how you have made a positive impact and you could win
one of the monetary prizes. If you are one of the top three prize winners,
you also could have an opportunity to fly to the 2009 IEEE Honors Ceremony
in Los Angeles, California, USA. In addition to the winners selected by
the IEEE judges, a People's Choice Award will be given to the project
that gains the most online popular votes through the IEEE 125th
Anniversary website.

Competition Prizes include:
IEEE Student Humanitarian Supreme: US$10,000
IEEE Distinguished Student Humanitarian: US$5,000
IEEE Exceptional Student Humanitarian: US$2,500
IEEE Outstanding Student Humanitarian: US$1,000 (up to five awarded)
The People’s Choice Award: US$500

Submissions will be accepted from individuals or teams from 1 September
2008 through 28 February 2009.
For complete details and eligibility requirements, visit:
http://ieee125.org/ChangetheWorld

Good Luck!

IEEE 125th Anniversary Team