Development

The fact that FlightGear possesses an open structure contributes to the possibility to further develop the MVP. The basis for different calculations one may need for example are accessible in FlightGear. Every variable that may be needed for a future functionality can, with a high probability, be found in the property tree of FlightGear. This will be elaborated more in the Recommendations section. In addition, the fact that FlightGear is open source may further contribute to development. FlightGear has an active user community who are dedicated in maintaining and improving FlightGear. It may be the case that certain functionality that is needed for the MVP is already realised by an enthousiast. Since this is an open source community, all source code will be publicly available.

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Conclusion

The results from the different phases of the Creative Technology Design process, the outcomes of the user test and the answers to the sub research question can be utilised to answer the main research ques- tion. In addition the relevance for the NLR and the academic relevance are described. To commence, the sub research questions and their consequtive answers will be stated once more:

What is the SDCS?

The SDCS is further elaborated and is placed in a broader context with the aid of scientific litera- ture in order to evaluate its relative standing in the unmanned paradigm. Important definitions have been defined and treated and the SDCS was placed in a theoretical framework of theory in the un- manned aircraft paradigm.

What is a Minimum Viable Product?

A definition for an MVP was established; an MVP has to fulfil all requirements denoted as “Must- have”, which were established in an exceeding chapter of this thesis.

What is the goal of the MVP of the SDCS?

A differentiation between a purely demonstrational platform, a test platform and a blended form has been made to elicit the needs of the stakeholders. These results have been used to further shape the final form of the MVP.

What are the most important elements of the SDCS to be included in the MVP?

A Kano analysis has been performed to elicit the highest priority aspects of both the SDCS and the MVP in order to prioritise what is being treated during the limited timeframe of this thesis. The requirements following from this process have been prioritised in “Must-have” and “Should-have” re- quirements.

What are suitable methods and tools for developing an MVP of the SDCS?

To answer this sub question, several software packs have been treated and in combination with Related Work section, the answer to this sub question has provided with different tools for the envisioned MVP. How can this be translated into a MVP of the SDCS?

A software pack has been chosen and the MVP has been developed. This resulted in a low-cost (no expense) open source based MVP consisting utilising FlightGear, Python and Ubuntu. The main re- search question was formulated in the first chapter of this thesis:

“What elements of the Semi-Direct Control System (SDCS) must be incorporated in a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) to demonstrate the functionality of the SDCS and to function as an effective develop-

ment platform?”

The answers to the sub questions and the results of the Evaluation section allows answering of the main research question. The MVP at its current state has not proven to be fully able to demonstrate effectively what the SDCS should be capable of and thus also be able to convince future stakeholders of the necessity.

The MVP however successfully illustrates the problem that the SDCS attempts to tackle; latency on data links severely impact effective direct control of UCAVs and UAVs in general and limits their effectiveness in these situations. This can be demonstrated by inducing delay on the joystick control. The NLR can leverage this functionality in order to illustrate their motives for the research in the SDCS. The problem of latency in UCAV control can be explained through speech, but being able to allow a person to experience the troubles of flying with delay is more powerful. To effectively demon- strate the functionality of the SDCS the MVP should include more sophisticated versions of elements of the SDCS than it does now. The current possibilities of commands that can be given to the UCAV are too limited to interact with another aircraft. This was visible during the user test, where finding each other and maintaining formation proved to be so difficult, that it was hard to have full focus on engaging in air to air manoeuvres. The most important elements of the SDCS that need to be improved are the manoeuvres and functionality of the CMMS. This claim will be thoroughly elaborated in the Recommendations chapter.

The MVP can function as a development platform for further research. The choice of open source software and the open and accessible architecture of FlightGear has strongly contributed to the MVP being future proof; since it is not yet clear what research is going to be performed on the SDCS in the future, the design choices have been made such that the MVP allows for the addition of external scripts and in addition allows access to all flight variables and parameters that may be needed to realise new functionality of the SDCS. A key test variable, latency, can be simulated so that the MVP can also function as a human factors research platform. This claim will be elaborated in the Recommendations section. Furthermore, since FlightGear is an open source flight simulator, a substantial community lives online that actively contributes to the development of (functions of) FlightGear. This way, the ”power of the masses” may contribute to the speed of development.

Thus, the MVP needs further development to fully mature and gain the possibility of demonstrat- ing the concepts of the SDCS. The following chapter, Recommendations, will elaborate on methods for achieving this and furthermore provides the NLR with options to develop the MVP and perform research with it.

The academic relevance lies in the application of open-source, low cost software for developing UAV or UCAV test beds suitable for HIL testing and verification of control concepts. This is especially beneficial to researcher with a smaller budget or limited resources. Furthermore, this tool provides opportunity for assessing the SDCS control concept in the future and helps determining what autonomy should be present for effective application of UCAVs in air to air combat.

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Recommendations

This chapter handles the recommendations have followed during the research process. It furthermore includes suggestions for the approach of these improvements. These recommendations are part of the deliverables of this thesis.