On Feb. 20, a workshop with fun and informative live demonstrations will be held from 12-1:30 p.m. at the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building, Room 116. 

Today’s autonomous aerial vehicles (AAVs) lack the artificial intelligence (AI) needed to safely operate in real-world urban air mobility environments.

To tackle this challenge, the Center on AI for Digital, Autonomous and Augmented Aviation (AIDA³) was launched in April 2024, and ever since, its team has worked diligently to get the word out about the research infrastructure — called AIrTonomy — in place at Purdue that aims to develop trustworthy AI and machine learning (ML) systems for AAVs.

AIDA³ has planned an opportunity for the public to learn more about the center. On Feb. 20, a workshop with fun and informative live demonstrations will be held from 12-1:30 p.m. at the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building, Room 116. RSVP by Feb. 18. The event will showcase how the center’s research team rapidly translates cutting-edge AI and autonomy research from lab-to-life and Sim2Real by leveraging unique testing facilities to address real-world aviation issues.

In September 2024, AIDA³ hosted a two-day National Science Foundation-sponsored AIrTonomy workshop focused on the development of next-generation AAVs through the use of cyber-simulated and real-world environments that are accessible from anywhere in the world. The workshop’s primary goal was to develop research uses and refine AIrTonomy’s infrastructure requirements using demonstrations, lightning talks, poster presentations, breakout sessions and panel discussions.

“AAVs are a critical part of how future engineers will solve a wide range of societal challenges,” said Bill Crossley,  Uhrig & Vournas Head of Aeronautics and Astronautics in the College of Engineering. “The research being performed by AIDA3 at Purdue's unmatched facilities — and the technology-backed ideas that emerged from the workshop —  are what draw researchers and industry to work with us.”

Workshop speakers provided high-level perspectives on trends in advanced air mobility and AI/ML for autonomous systems, and attendees worked together to identify challenges and opportunities in this growing field.

Over the months that followed the workshop, the AIDA³ team produced a comprehensive report encompassing all aspects of the event.

“The report includes videos of all the workshop demonstrations held at our state-of-the-art facilities,” said Sabine Brunswicker, professor in the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and founder/director of AIDA³. “We showcased technologies like remote aircraft operation, remote environmental sensing, AAV protection from potential signal interference, NightVapor and motion capture capabilities.”

Attended by 100 participants including thought leaders from academia, industry and government, the event highlighted AIrTonomy’s15-mile-wide triangle known as the Purdue Unmanned Proving Ground (PUP) that will bring together five unique indoor and outdoor facilities and infrastructure components: the envisioned Purdue Urban Canyon Lab, Purdue XTM (unmanned/autonomous aircraft traffic management) capability, the in-development Earhart Field, the Augmented Aviation Lab (AAL), and the existing Motion Capture Indoor Lab inside Purdue’s UAS Research and Testing Facility.

“This area ensures that research can move back and forth from lab to life while each physical component on its own offers unique capabilities for research. The major value comes from the joint integrative use of multiple components,” Brunswicker said.