As aircraft these days are a lot more electronics than they are airframe, the success of an aircraft development program, both financially and technically, can be traced back to the success of the avionics development. That is why avionics has always been one of the major leading factors in the evolution of the aircraft design, with the attempt to match the increasingly complex requirements with the limited funds. Ever increasing requirements activate key technologies while new technologies exert pressure towards increased requirements. However affordability is the main issue during the design and development phase to make the correct trade-off between requirements and performance. Future Avionics systems will therefore require an ever increasing use of automation to support and improve crew capabilities to meet the modern needs. This paper will describe the evolution of the requirements, the human-machine relationship, the aiding metaphors (automation as a tool or as a prosthesis), the cognitive automation, the cooperative approach automation as well as the emerging technologies and future trends and developments of the avionics and air traffic management systems. Modern automation applications for onboard and ground processes will then be analysed with particular emphasis to the integrity and success of the mission. Automation is also the key factor allowing the evolution of the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) from the Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs) to the more and more autonomous systems of the future.
展开▼
