Jan 12 2009
空军研究实验室这里亚博网站下载的材料和制造局官员正在为F-35联合罢工战斗机开发自动化的飞机加油系统。
Air Force Research Laboratory researchers are developing a robot for automated aircraft ground refueling at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. In this photo, Air Force Research Laboratory's automated aircraft ground refueling system mock-up simulates performing a refueling test. (Courtesty photo)
该系统的成功开发和测试将为飞机手动加油提供可行的替代方法。
该系统将达到21世纪空军智能行动的目标 - 以更有效地找到使用空军物资和人员的创新方法。在“热”加油过程中，每架飞机附近的人员数量减少 - 加油，而一个或多个发动机正在运行 - 将提高安全性。根据系统的结果，未来的进步将使加油的船员在封闭的环境中没有以任务为导向的保护姿势装备，并且仍然可以保护化学生物学风险。
Aircraft ground refueling equipment has improved but the method of refueling has changed minimally, said Walt Waltz, the robotic group lead.
"It is still a manual process that involves personnel handling the fuel supply hose, attaching, and then detaching it," Mr. Waltz said.
位于佛罗里达州廷德尔空军基地的Airbase Technologies部门的研究人员收到了空军教育和培训司令部，空军石油局和海军航空系统司令部的官员的请求F-35在地面上。沃尔兹先生说，在考虑了几种选择之后，研究人员开始开发一个机器人来应对这一挑战。
Once completed, an operator will use this robotic system to initiate refueling with the push of a button on an operational control unit from several hundred feet away. The unit will communicate with a computer that will govern the robot's actions.
The robot will be tethered to a fuel hydrant by a pantograph. This multijointed, moving pipeline will follow behind the robot and supply it with fuel. A vision-based guidance system will direct the robot's movements. Vision and proximity sensors will observe the aircraft's location and the robot's approach path. The guidance system will confirm the aircraft type, assess its orientation, and locate the fuel door. The robot will then position itself near the fuel door. Once in position, accurate angular measurements will align the nozzle with the single point refueling adapter on the aircraft. The robot will attach the fuel nozzle and begin fueling. At completion, a similar reverse procedure will detach and retract the robot from the aircraft.
在整个加油过程中，指导传感器将监视与飞机或地面上的物体接近的意外变化，以防止不必要的接触。系统的操作员将使用操作控制单元来监视一个或多个机器人的同时活动。如果出现问题，快速的安全堕胎功能将停止系统。
Waltz先生说，最近的一次示威活动是使用视觉引导的机器人进行的，将喷嘴加油的喷嘴转移到飞机模型上，定位单点加油的适配器，并将加油喷嘴放在适配器上。
"A robotic arm was fitted with a charge-coupled device camera and a simulated (single point refueling) nozzle," he said. "A personal computer aided by a mainframe computer processed image files from the robot and guided it toward the single point refueling adapter. The robot slid the simulated nozzle around the adapter and rotated the nozzle. The process was demonstrated several times. The system's performance during the demonstration helped to prove that an autonomous robot is a feasible alternative to manual refueling."
The researchers are now making technology selections, evaluating robotic vision equipment, planning for the utilities required at the demonstration site and preparing to build the system. They plan to start demonstrational testing in 2010.