Design and Implementation of Supervisory Wireless Control: Aircraft Braking System Case Study

There is an increasing interest in the use of wireless communication for aerospace applications especially for closed-loop control applications. This paper presents the challenges associated with wireless closed-loop control in safety-critical aerospace applications. It also highlights the potential advantages of a fly-by-wireless system. A case study of the design and implementation of a wireless feedback control system for an aircraft electric braking system is presented. A sensorless supervisory control approach is proposed for a wireless aircraft braking system. The developed sensorless supervisory control method addresses the issue of lost data packets in feedback loops, a key challenge in wireless implementations. Finally, the implemented algorithm is tested in real-time using a wireless hardware demonstrator. The effectiveness of the algorithm in real-time is assessed by deliberately introducing packet loss and radio interference.