Enhancing the auto flight system of the SAGITTA Demonstrator UAV by fault detection and diagnosis

The SAGITTA Demonstrator is a novel UAV with a digital flight control system being developed by the Institute of Flight System Dynamics of Technische Universitat Munchen. This paper presents the enhancement of the integrated auto flight system software by a monitoring / fault detection and diagnosis module. Its algorithms are designed to assess the health status of the flight control system components and to detect faults or failures. Within the scope of the simplex system architecture of the SAGITTA Demonstrator, monitoring / fault detection and diagnosis focuses on availability and accuracy of sensor values, detection of data link and flight control system-internal communication errors, and operability of the actuator control electronics. The developed module interconnects with the system automation and automatic take-off and landing modules of the auto flight system, which feature fault evaluation and predefined contingency procedures on the basis of the fault detection and diagnosis introduced in this paper.