A v-diagram for the design of integrated health management for unmanned aerial systems

Designing Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) is inherently complex. UAS are a system of systems (SoS) and IVHM is a product-service, thus the designer has to take into account many factors, such as: the design of the other systems of the UAS (e.g. engines, structure, communications), the split of functions between elements of the UAS, the intended operation/mission of the UAS, the cost verses benefit of monitoring a system/component/part, different techniques for monitoring the health of the UAS, optimizing the health of the fleet and not just the individual UAS, amongst others. The design of IVHM cannot sit alongside, or after, the design of UAS, but itself be integrated into the overall design to maximize IVHM’s potential.

Many different methods exist to help design complex products and manage the process. One method used is the V-diagram which is based on three concepts: decomposition & definition; integration & testing; and verification & validation. This paper adapts the V-diagram so that it can be used for designing IVHM for UAS. The adapted v-diagram splits into different tracks for the different system elements of the UAS and responses to health states (decomposition and definition). These tracks are then combined into an overall IVHM provision for the UAS (integration and testing), which can be verified and validated. The stages of the adapted V-diagram can easily be aligned with the stages of the V-diagram being used to design the UAS bringing the design of the IVHM in step with the overall design process. The adapted V-diagram also allows the design IVHM for a UAS to be broken down in to smaller tasks which can be assigned to people/teams with the relevant competencies. The adapted V-diagram could also be used to design IVHM for other SoS and other vehicles or products.