State of the Art of Autonomous Platforms and Human-Machine Systems: 'Only a fool would stand in the way of progress' - Captain James T. Kirk Star Trek: 'The Ultimate Computer' (1968)

摘要

An emerging vision of high-speed, on-demand mobility includes small aircraft that are as accessible to the broad population as cars. Broad accessibility dictates that such vehicles be safe and easy to use, including significantly reduced operator training, relative to current small aircraft. Very high levels of automation present a potential approach to enabling these goals, however unless emerging automation can largely obviate the need for human involvement beyond providing high-level goals (such as desired origin, destination, and time of departure), human-automation interaction will remain a key challenge. What are the safety levels and functions required for automated pilotage and how close are we to achieving them? In this overview, we assess likely safety goals and requirements for on-demand mobility aircraft and then examine the state of the art in transportation automation that could help meet them. Looking at intercity rail, cars, and aircraft we survey operational safety functions that automation currently supports, how completely it performs these functions, and how it supports tasks shared with human operators. We conclude with a brief discussion of likely gaps between the state of the art and the needs of on-demand mobility.