Jeff has been involved in aerospace journalism since the mid 1990s. Prior to joining Aviation Week, Jeff served as managing editor of Launchspace magazine and the International Space Industry Report. He has been the editor and chief of Aviation Week's Aerospace Daily & Defense Report since 2007 and has been a regular contributor to Aviation Week magazine. He received his B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
Researchers at the Human-Automation Integration Research Branch of NASA Ames Research Center are working to reconcile ground-based and aircraft-based flight automation systems in an effort to make airport arrivals more efficient. Systems in the air traffic control tower and on the aircraft itself are often at cross purposes when it comes to descent and arrival, according to Ames Branch Chief Rose Ashford.
As tomorrow's unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) become more autonomous and less deterministic in their behavior, safety regulations may prevent them from ever flying, according to Bruce Clough of the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). "In my humble opinion, if we want to go ahead and do what we want to do with UAVs we've got to give them more autonomy," said Clough at an unmanned vehicle conference here Aug. 2.
A recent feasibility study examining the possibility of sending an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to explore Saturn's moon Titan points out a number of areas of technical overlap that could benefit UAV operations on Earth. "What we tried to do here is identify some overlap between the space community and the UAV community, and see how we can leverage those for the benefit of all," said Ryan Shaefer of Adroit Systems, Inc., co-author of the study. Shaefer made his remarks at an unmanned vehicles conference in Baltimore, Md. last week.
