NAS Patuxent River, Md. –
An empty space at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Lakehurst, New Jersey, previously used for electromagnetic interference testing, has been transformed into a temporary test site to advance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology.
The repurposed site is now home to the Motion Platform Aerial Sensor Suite (MPASS), a system that uses cables and a dolly to simulate UAV behavior to support developmental testing.
The six-month project, made possible by funds from the Naval Innovative Science and Engineering (NISE) program, is a collaborative team effort including the original equipment manufacturer and other stakeholders. It will allow customers to use and refine the technology before it moves to its permanent home at Lakehurst’s Ship Motion Platform (SMP) next year. This additional testing time will help the team enhance its proficiency and optimize the system’s performance before it reaches its permanent location.
“In this fast-paced world of innovation, the whole idea is being quicker with UAVs and drones, and we’re taking steps to do that,” said lead test engineer Rob Pellegrino. “We’re leveraging existing capabilities and transforming them into usable spaces for emergent needs.”
In its temporary location, the Lakehurst team has already identified ways to improve MPASS, enhancing its smoothness and positional accuracy to make it an even more valuable tool for customers.
“The whole reason for MPASS is to allow a third-party control system to fly the dolly around as if it were the aircraft,” Pellegrino said. “It was always designed to test early UAV control systems with the intent of taking the airframe out of guidance system development.”
While the team looks forward to installing the full system at the SMP, Pellegrino emphasized the benefits of having a temporary site.
“We’re surging to meet the need, and executing things in short timeframes is going to be more and more important with expected changes in the UAV landscape. How do we shorten development times, and how do we get everything to the fleet faster?” he said.
MPASS, which uses the same technology that moves cameras during televised sporting events, has applications beyond UAV testing. It can also support obstacle avoidance control for omnidirectional vehicles in shipboard environments and help mitigate undesired motion in autonomous systems caused by ships moving.
Pellegrino thanked Lakehurst leadership for quickly approving the use of the space and the test team for their hard work in setting up the site while managing other priorities.
Adam Hochron is a communications specialist for Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst, New Jersey. 