Abraham Lincoln Tests ATARI

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by spazsinbad » 29 Mar 2018, 17:47

Abraham Lincoln Tests ATARI
28 Mar 2018 Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Josue L. Escobosa USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs

"ATLANTIC OCEAN (NNS) -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was the first kid on the block to get a new ATARI. No, not the iconic gaming system from the 80s, but a system designed to remotely land aircraft on a carrier. Abraham Lincoln's friends, the other carriers, should be jealous.

ATARI, or aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor, was, for the first time ever, successfully demonstrated during a touch-and-go on an aircraft carrier while conducting carrier qualifications and flight testing aboard Abraham Lincoln. ATARI gives Landing Signal Officers (LSOs) the ability to take over and maneuver aircraft during recovery operations.

"I was really impressed with LSO's ability get me to touch down," said Lt. John Marino, a carrier suitability pilot from the "Salty Dogs" of Air test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23, and the first pilot to land on a flight deck using ATARI. "The conditions were really varsity (difficult), and it was really impressive the system worked the way it did. On a calm day, it would have been a little bit boring, but this was definitely more challenging."

Developed at Naval Air station Patuxent River, Maryland by Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), ATARI was originally been tested in a Learjet in 2016, performing shore-based low approaches. In 2017, F/A-18s were fitted with this technology and after extensive testing and quality assurance, VX-23 was confident enough to test their system at-sea.

"There was some nervousness because the sea state was so bad," said Marino. "Back on the airfield, testing was benign."

LSOs are capable of taking over an aircraft from up to five miles away using the ATARI. The system demonstrates a potential method for recovering an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) by using the LSO's ability to observe and fix glideslope and lineup errors. Though not intended to be a primary method for recovering aircraft, it does provide a relatively inexpensive backup system in the case and an LSO needs on to step in and use their expertise and training to safely guide an aircraft. Along with the ATARI, a van outfitted with the ATARI system was brought aboard and setup behind the LSO platform to allow the engineers to watch the approaches in real-time, monitor safety-of-flight data and ensure passes were going smoothly. The van recorded flight data for engineers to analyze later and allowed VX-23 to test their system without having to install it [onboard] Abraham Lincoln.

"We don't have unmanned carrier-based vehicles in the fleet today, but they are coming soon, said Dan Shafer, a NAVAIR air vehicle engineer. "This is a potential alternative landing method and our system performed well."

Much like its namesake, ATARI uses a joystick to control a UAV, or in this case for testing purposes, an F/A-18 outfitted with the system and a safety pilot sitting in the cockpit. The LSOs use the joysticks to make corrections and safely land the aircraft on the flight deck.

"We took the guy who's flying the aircraft and we moved him to the LSO platform," said Buddy Denham, a senior engineer at NAVAIR and creator of ATARI. "You're effectively using little joystick controllers to guide a 40,000 lbs. airplane, and it's almost like you're playing a video game."

Prior to landing, the aircraft first had to perform three wave-offs to ensure all conditions were safe and the system could indeed take over the aircraft while-at sea. On the fourth approach, the system engineers and LSOs felt comfortable doing touch-and-goes.

"The deck was pitching significantly and yawing and rolling," said Denham. "It was particularly difficult to land that day, and we showed it's possible to use this system even when the conditions aren't ideal."

The ATARI testing was conducted over the course of two days in conjunction with carrier qualifications. Though not currently slated for fleet-wide implementation, yet the successful give it potential for future application. The ATARI engineers will analyze the data collected aboard Abraham Lincoln and make adjustments for further at-sea testing...."

Photo: "180322-N-CT127-0097 ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 22, 2018) Landing signal officers work with the aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor in preparation for incoming aircraft to land on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Josue Escobosa/Released)" http://www.navy.mil/management/photodb/ ... 7-0097.JPG (0.8Mb)


Source: http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=104887


Just in case this is the backup ATARI setup: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... Sw-Set.jpg

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LSO ATARI 180322-N-CT127-0097cropSMALL.jpg


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by mixelflick » 30 Mar 2018, 17:18

Oh, what the Russians and Chinese would give to have this!


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by jetblast16 » 31 Mar 2018, 01:29

Is it 8-bit?
Have F110, Block 70, will travel


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by spazsinbad » 31 Mar 2018, 05:39

:devil: Nope. Qubit :doh:


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by spazsinbad » 31 Mar 2018, 11:44

Aviation Reporters have it easy - just reprint the USN material. WooWee.
US Navy remotely lands F/A-18 Super Hornet on carrier deck
30 Mar 2018 Garrett Reim

"Naval officers [call them LSOs and be done with it numnut] aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln demonstrated for the first time the ability to remotely take control of an aircraft and land it on an aircraft carrier’s deck.

Using the ATARI system, or aircraft terminal approach remote inceptor, landing signal officers demonstrated remote piloting of the F/A-18E Super Hornet while conducting carrier qualifications and flight testing aboard the Abraham Lincoln in March. The officers also demonstrated touch-and-go manoeuvres with the system.

The ATARI technology was developed at NAS Patuxent River, Maryland by Naval Air Systems Command. It was initially tested on a Learjet in 2016, performing shore-based low approaches. An undisclosed number of F/A-18s were fitted with the technology in 2017. The system was deemed ready for trials at sea by the "Salty Dogs" of Air test and Evaluation Squadron 23.

"There was some nervousness because the sea state was so bad," said Lt John Marino, a carrier suitability pilot from the "Salty Dogs" and the first pilot to land on a flight deck using ATARI. "Back on the airfield, testing was benign."

The system demonstrated a potential method for recovering an unmanned aerial vehicle by using the landing signal officer’s ability to observe and fix glideslope and lineup errors, said the US Navy. It is not intended to be a primary method for recovering manned aircraft, but provides a relatively inexpensive backup system.

During testing, the ATARI system operators controlled an F/A-18 aircraft using a joystick, while a safety pilot sat in the cockpit as backup. The technology is capable of taking over an aircraft from up to five miles away.

Testing was conducted over the course of two days in conjunction with carrier qualifications. ATARI is not scheduled for fleet-wide implementation as the system’s engineers plan to analyze the data collected aboard Abraham Lincoln and make adjustments for further at-sea testing."

Source: https://www.flightglobal.com/news/artic ... ie-447225/


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by FlightDreamz » 31 Mar 2018, 23:44

I swear just going by the headline I thought for SURE this thread was spam. Spazinbad posts a LOT of great stuff so I should've know better. And I see someone already posted a Atari 2600 pic or is it from https://ataribox.com/ ????
And didn't the Northrop-Grumman X-47B have a joystick for deck handling? See https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... tion=click
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A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.— Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.


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by sdkf251 » 01 Apr 2018, 12:17

They should have an annual award Ceremony in the armed forces for the best Acronyms of the year and put it
in a Plaque. ATARI.... brilliant! :D


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by FlightDreamz » 01 Apr 2018, 15:58

A big plus one to what sdkf251 said.
Re-reading the flightglobal post kinda makes the F/A-18 sound like a U.A.V. or "optionally manned". I know that's not the case, but it's interesting.
During testing, the ATARI system operators controlled an F/A-18 aircraft using a joystick, while a safety pilot sat in the cockpit as backup. The technology is capable of taking over an aircraft from up to five miles away.

It's more of a (future) new automated landing system.
:offtopic: SIdenote I miss the Northrop-Grumman X-47B U.C.A.V. proposal, that was an interesting design.
A fighter without a gun . . . is like an airplane without a wing.— Brigadier General Robin Olds, USAF.


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by spazsinbad » 02 Apr 2018, 02:43

FlightDreamz wrote:...And didn't the Northrop-Grumman X-47B have a joystick for deck handling?...]

This is why I think the 'nose cameras' in the MQ-25 Stingray airframe offerings are for watching the aircraft handler signals on deck, so that the aircraft robotically interpret and follow these signals - much the same as the pilot.


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by spazsinbad » 02 Apr 2018, 07:40

Why the LSOs want to control things on the BAD DAYS!


Pitching Deck
Feb 2010 C.G. Paquin CVW-11 LSO

"For LSOs with deck swings in excess of 30 feet, a recovery got very interesting for the paddles and pilots involved. Below is one CAG paddles’ thoughts on the day’s events.
"As LSOs, we can manipulate the approaching aircraft to fly in a window that we can most easily manage. By this I mean we should use both voice and ball presentation to put a jet in a position where the pilot will have to make minimal power-off corrections.

Pick the glide slope (3.5-4.0 degrees) for the deck conditions and work hard to not let him get too high. I'm not suggesting that we should wave aircraft low. But consider this: the highest you can show a pilot on the MOVLAS is about half way up the lens. Once a pilot's energy state exceeds that presentation you now have a lot of work to do. Here is where you need to be able to pat your head and rub your belly. You must be able to talk and present the ball to the pilot in such a way that he knows exactly where he is on the glide slope so that he can judge the magnitude of his corrections. You need to be able to make him predictable.

This is what scares me about a pilot who is high with no reference other than Paddles? voice: he isn't very predictable up there. Each pilot should be familiar with your voice inflection. Each pilot should know what to do with the power based on your inflection.

And, as for the MOVLAS presentation, a pilot will know how to react to a red ball regardless of how far it is from what appears to be the middle. I would rather bolter a guy who is staying low with power calls and a red ball on MOVLAS than to use the power calls and a red ball to try to catch him coming off a high, flying through down. Ramp strikes occur (most of the time) when an aircraft goes from high to low. I believe this high and over–powered regime is more dangerous, with the current MOVLAS setup, than if the aircraft were a little low at the start to in the middle.

The reason is simple: we are not capable of providing as useful information to the pilot once he is above the limits of the MOVLAS. Keeping a pilot on glide slope will require you to exaggerate the ball displacement. He must be able to see it. You should plan on making radio calls if you aren't immediately getting what you want from the pilot. The harder you are working to get a pilot in the ballpark the farther out you should be moving the wave-off window regardless of where he is on the glide slope.

Voice calls are important and if you watch the PLAT tape of the 4 OCT recovery you will hear a lot of talking. Bug Roach wrote about how sometimes simply using “standard LSO comm” won't cut it. On the tape you will hear several screaming “Easy with it!” calls. Those were the equivalent to Bug Roach's “take some power off and land it” call. In the case of 4 OCT, with 700 miles to the nearest land, multiple low state aircraft and the weather getting worse, hard landings were a far better option than fuel starvation. Once you get the plane to a position where it has a reasonable chance to land you need to do what it takes to get it over the ramp and into the wires. One thing we learned from this recovery was that I probably should have been wearing the CAG LSO headset while working the MOVLAS. I was stepped on several times by the other CAG Paddles who was wearing it at the third position. All his calls were good but it was distracting for me as the controlling LSO."


That's about all I have. I wouldn't assume that the techniques I have discussed are the only and best way, but they are food for thought. Keep'm off the ramp. C.G. Paquin CVW-11 LSO"

Source: http://www.hrana.org/documents/PaddlesN ... ry2010.pdf [no longer available]


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by spazsinbad » 08 Jun 2018, 16:25

Smooth Landing 30 May 2018 http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodli ... h-landing/ ATARI STORY in PDF below.

NAN Naval Aviation News Spring 2018 complete: http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodli ... ng2018.pdf (9.2Mb)
Photo captions: "VX-23 test pilot Lt. Christopher Montague checks the control station of the ATARI prior to the March 22 demonstration of the system aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). (U.S. Navy photo by Buddy Denham)"
&
"Aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), from left, Cmdr. Bryan Roberts, officer in charge of the U.S. Navy Landing Signal Officer School, and Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 test pilots Lts. Christopher Montague and William Bowen man the control station of the Aircraft Terminal Approach Remote Inceptor, or ATARI, during a March 22 demonstration of the system, one of several options being considered as a backup plan to recovering unmanned aircraft should their primary landing systems falter. (U.S. Navy photos by MC1 Josue Escobosa)"
&
"From left, VX-23 test pilots Lts. John Marino and Christopher Montague, who are also landing signal officers, monitor an F/A-18 Super Hornet with degraded ailerons as it successfully lands aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during March 21 testing of the Precision Landing Modes flight control system, which has been updated to account for failing aerodynamic surfaces. (U.S. Navy photos by Buddy Denham)"

http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodli ... 63_WEB.jpg
&
http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodli ... lu_WEB.jpg
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http://navalaviationnews.navylive.dodli ... 97_WEB.jpg

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Smooth Landing ATARI NAN-Spring2018 pp4.pdf
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by spazsinbad » 30 Jul 2018, 06:57

'Like Playing a Video Game': Carrier Crew Flies Hornet Through Touch-and-Gos Remotely
02 Apr 2018 JOSEPH TREVITHICK

"The aptly named ATARI system could help out during emergencies and other contingencies and might be important for future carrier drone operations. The flight deck crew [LSfreakin'Os boyo] of a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier has remotely controlled an F/A-18 Hornet through a series of touch-and-gos at sea for the first time using a specialized system known as the Aircraft Terminal Approach Remote Inceptor, or ATARI. The service may eventually give all of its flattops this same
capability, which would be invaluable in the event of an in-flight emergency or poor weather and could also serve as an alternate means of recovering unmanned aircraft in the future.

In March 2018, the Landing Signal Officers on board the USS Abraham Lincoln used ATARI to maneuver a Hornet with a pilot inside from the “Salty Dogs” of Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) through a standard recovery procedure. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) first began testing the system on land in 2016 using a modified Learjet, before installing the necessary equipment in some of VX-23's F/A-18s the following year.

“The [sea state] conditions were really varsity [difficult], and it was really impressive the system worked the way it did. On a calm day, it would have been a little bit boring, but this was definitely more challenging,” U.S. Navy Lieutenant John Marino, a VX-23 pilot who flight tests systems for carrier suitability, said after the March 2018 event. “Back on the airfield, testing was benign.”...

...True to its acronym, the components of ATARI on the carrier consist of a joystick and other controls and monitors to observe the aircraft’s flight path. It’s not clear from the Navy’s description whether the system uses a line-of-sight link or leverages the longer range data links on the aircraft itself. We also don’t know whether or not it takes a video feed from cameras on the plane itself or uses sensors on the ship to determine the appropriate glideslope and lineup position, or both.... [possible use scenarios outlined]

...Navy aircraft already have Instrument Carrier Landing System (ICLS) and the Automatic Carrier Landing System (ACLS) as on board aids to help in recovering safely, especially in inclement weather. ACLS is a "hands off" system, as well, but does not involve crew on the carrier flying the aircraft remotely.

However, ACLS, which relies on a dedicated radar on the carrier to provide course correction information, reportedly lacks the precision necessary to work by itself in all cases. In approximately 20 to 40 percent of ACLS-assisted recoveries, the pilot still needs to take over and make the final adjustments before landing.

As such the service hopes to begin replacing both ICLS and ACLS with improved and more accurate Joint Precision Approach & Landing Systems (JPALS), which uses GPS-enabled position information, starting in 2019. ATARI could still provide an important backup system for JPALS in the scenarios we've already noted….

...Of course, ATARI won’t likely be a perfect remedy in any of these situations. In a real emergency, the Landing Signal Officers might not have the benefit of multiple passes before they can be confident in their ability to set the aircraft in question down safely or at least have it take the barrier. They might still call for a stricken pilot to ditch or eject for fear of causing a greater catastrophe on the flight deck.

Depending on its configuration, failures in the command links between the system and the plane heading back to the carrier are a potential issue that could similarly render ATARI non-functional. In a crisis, satellite linkages are increasingly vulnerable to hostile interference, as well as enemy forces outright attacking space-based assets.

But if ATARI doesn't rely on satellite links, it could be especially useful in a GPS-denied environment and might be the only option for getting drones that rely on satellite navigation back on the ship. It could also be an important substitute for the GPS-dependent [encrypted & jam proof design - relative ship to aircraft] JPALS, as well...."

Source: http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/19 ... s-remotely



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