Autonomous control of uninhabited air vehicles

The research covered in this paper for the autonomous control of Uninhabited Air Vehicles (UAVs) is to develop and demonstrate an innovative systems approach to total air vehicle management. This enables and is the first step in the development of robust and capable UAVs. This approach is on the cutting edge of vehicle management research and development. It combines traditional approaches to systems design with advanced artificial intelligence systems for monitoring and plan management. These are based on technologies developed for autonomous space exploration. This effort combines research conducted at the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the General Electric Corporate Research and Development Center.