(c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization.

AJUI A

AIAA 2001-2033
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Reserve Automatic Activation Device for

Low-Altitude Static Line Jumps
N. Voronka and D. Johnson
Cybernet Systems Corp.
Ann Arbor, Ml
R. Benney and W. Millette
U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center
Natick, MA

16th Aerodynamic Decelerator Systems

Seminar and Conference
21-24 May 2001
Boston, Massachusetts
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 (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization.
2011-2033

RESERVE AUTOMATIC ACTIVATION DEVICE FOR LOW-ALTITUDE STATIC LINE JUMPS

Nestor Voronka* and Derek Johnson*
Cybernet Systems Corporation
Ann Arbor, MI 48108

Richard J. Benneyt and William L. Millette, Jr.J

U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command
Soldier Systems Center
Natick, MA 01760-5017

Abstract time to determine his canopy status and activate the

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Cybernet Systems, a small research firm based in Ann reserve if necessary. In addition to this safety
Arbor, MI, is exploring the feasibility of a military precaution, skydiving students are required to use
reserve parachute Automatic Activation Device (AAD). Automatic Activation Devices that trigger reserve
The project is being conducted under a Phase II Small deployment if, at 1000 feet AGL, their vertical velocity
Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract in exceeds safe limits. Military combat and training
conjunction with the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Center jumps are often performed from 800 feet AGL, and
in Natick, Massachusetts. Commercial AADs are there is very little time for the jumper to determine
currently available to civilian jumpers, but are designed whether or not a malfunction exists. Combat jumps
only for high altitude jumps and are prohibitively may also be conducted from altitudes as low as 500 feet
expensive. Cybernet's AAD utilizes inexpensive AGL. Consequently the addition of an AAD would
micromachined electromechanical systems (MEMS) prove useful since the jumper's reaction time may be
which are being developed for the automotive industry. inadequate to ensure a safe landing. There are also
Cybernet uses these sensors, including accelerometers instances where a jumper may become incapacitated or
and pressure transducers, to create a modified inertial unconscious and therefore unable to activate the
navigation system. This inertial navigation system is reserve. While there are commercial AADs available
then used to feed a sophisticated decision process, that skydivers can use, such devices do not exist for
which decides, in real-time, if the jumper wearing the military static line jumpers. There have been numerous
AAD has encountered a malfunction. If a malfunction instances where an AAD would have been useful as an
is detected, the AAD activates the jumper's reserve item of equipment for static line military parachutists,
parachute by firing a pyrotechnic device, which pulls as is witnessed by the data in Figure 1. The instances
the reserve ripcord. The most up-to-date decision where the integration of reserve automated opening
algorithm created by Cybernet has proven 100% capability (AOC) would prove useful are depicted in
effective upon a limited data set. Cybernet is currently the parachute incident flowchart in Figure 3.
preparing to expand the data set to include special
scenarios such as when a jumper is towed by the
aircraft and to further test the decision algorithm.

Introduction
When a parachute malfunctions, it is critical that the
jumper deploys the reserve parachute quickly to ensure
that the reserve canopy has adequate time to inflate and
slow his descent. Recreational skydivers are required
to activate their chutes at or above 2000 feet above
Mid-All
ground level (AGL). This affords the skydiver enough Entanglements
28%

* Electrical Engineer
t Senior Mechanical Engineer, Senior Member Figure 1. Military Static Line Parachuting
$Mechanical Engineer Fatalities 1974-1999 Classified by Type of
Malfunction.
Copyright 2001 by Cybernet Systems Corporation.
Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Currently, Cybernet is working with the U.S. Army
Astronautics, Inc. with permission. Natick Soldier Center to develop such as system under

1
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 (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization.
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Figure 2. Cybernet's First prototype Automatic Activation Device and a photograph of how it might be worn
on a jumper's parachute harness.

Unconscious or Incapacitated

Conscious & Capable

Total
Malfunction
or Broken Static Lines
Streamer
& Main Canopy Failures
Caused 34% of Static Line
Parachuting Fatalaties
from 1974-1999

I_ Partial
Static Line Deploys Malfunction

Significantly Faster
Yes>
Failure Than Other Jumpers
(Line
Breaks Jumper
During Aware of
Retrieval Faster
Attempt) Descent
Success

Figure 3. Static Line Jumpers Parachute Incident Flowchart highlighting the need for Automatic Opening
Capability (AOC) for static line parachute systems.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

 (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization.

Phase II SBIR contract. Existing commercial AADs Typical^^i^^

use barometric pressure sensors and are considered
prohibitively expensive by many jumpers. The military
market has even greater concerns regarding the cost of
Canopy Opening
an A AD. Therefore Cybernet's goal is not only to
develop a device that will save lives, but to make a low-
cost device as well.

To develop a cost effective system, Cybernet has

leveraged the availability of very inexpensive sensors,
which are being developed for the automotive industry.
MEMS manufacturing techniques have been
successfully implemented to economically produce
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high performance and high reliability accelerometers

for use in airbag systems for crash detection and Figure 3. Total Acceleration for a Nominal T-10C
pressure sensors used for engine control. Cybernet is parachute opening for a dummy dropped
currently testing these sensors' ability to measure from a C-130.
important parameters in the performance of the
parachute system. Before a jumper exits the aircraft, he Typical Free
activates the A AD. Then, using modified inertial
navigation techniques and sophisticated decision
algorithms, the AAD continually surveys the sensors to
decide if a malfunction has occurred. The speed of
today's Digital Signal Processing hardware allows for
decisions in real time, even when fractions of seconds
are vital. If a malfunction has occurred, the reserve is
pyrotechnically actuated and is deployed with a simple
mechanical device, which pulls the reserve handle
thereby releasing the reserve. Such a system has been
undergoing dummy drop tests at the US Army Proving
Grounds in Yuma, Arizona to collect data from actual :
425 426 427
jumps. The data collected from these jumps is currently '
being used to develop and improve the decision Figure 5. Total Acceleration for a dummy in f reef all
algorithms. (broken static line) dropped from a C-130.

The Cybernet AAD has been through two design jjli^jriii;^

revisions and has recorded data through a number of
different situations. The first dataset and subsequent
design revision were both under the phase I of the SBIR
contract. The first prototype can be seen in Figure 2,
along with a picture showing how the AAD might be
worn on the jumper's parachute harness. After the first
set of drops it would be better to integrate the AAD
with the actual reserve to simplify system handling.

This first generation prototype was used to record data

during the first data set, where each dummy's parachute
was rigged to simulate either a normal opening or a 100 200 300 400 ; 500 600 700 800 900
../' '. . '' "' ''. -*: .;. - : - '"/''/ - fime(s) - ' . . - : . "' / .
malfunction scenario. The malfunction scenarios
included: 30% partial (the parachutes was tied off so as Figure 6. Typical average pressure signature of
to allow the parachute to open, but only to 30% of its a dummy dropped from a C-130.
potential drag area), and streamer (the parachute was
allowed to deploy, but was completely tied off so that it
was prevented from opening). Flight tests were

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

 (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)1 Sponsoring Organization.

Upon further review of the pressure data from the first

dataset it was revealed that it might still prove useful,
primarily for exit detection. The data shows that the
pressure sensors behave oddly while in the air stream
surrounding the aircraft due to ram-air and Venturi
effects. This allows the AAD to verify its decision
timeline by affirming when the jumper is outside of the
aircraft. Robust exit detection vastly improves the
decision algorithm across all kinds of varying scenarios.
The plot in Figure 5 shows a typical pressure signal
during a drop. Re-integration of the pressure sensor
also reduces the potential for inadvertent activation of
the AAD in the aircraft, a problem that might have
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occurred on an extremely turbulent low-level flight if

the device had continued to use only accelerometers to
detect the jumper's exit from the aircraft.

Figure 4. Second Generation Prototype Automatic It has been determined that the spiking effect is critical
Activation Device for Static Line Jumpers. for robust exit detection. It is also apparent from the
pressure plots that the pressure signal is very noisy, it
performed at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Grounds becomes steady after a chute is opened. This stable
where dummies were outfitted with a T-10C parachute signal area is labeled "Normal Descent" in the plot.
configured as previously mentioned. The results from This stability allows for a quick descent speed check
the collected data showed that a distinction between the after a chute has opened. This type of check will help
malfunction and the normal jumps could be made using prevent minor landing injuries such as sprained ankles,
just the data from accelerometers (Figure 4 and Figure by deploying the reserve if the descent speed is too
5.) It also showed that the pressure sensors were high. This last check is likely to catch a borderline 30%
unreliable early on in the drop due to the strong wake partial malfunction that the sophisticated decision
turbulence near the aircraft (Figure 6.) algorithm might miss. This kind of feature adds
reliability to an already robust device.
The results from the first dataset prompted Cybernet to
make a few changes in the design of the prototype. For The most recent data set consisted of sixteen simulated
the second version of the prototype, the pressure drops. Four drops were conducted of the following
sensors were removed and the rest of the electronics scenarios: full open (no malfunction), 30% partial
were streamlined and updated. A picture of the second malfunction, 5% partial malfunction, and free fall (total
prototype is shown in figure 4. malfunction). Data was collected from each of these
drops using the latest sensor array. That data was then
This second prototype was used to acquire data from passed through the latest version of the decision
two more datasets. The first dataset was obtained algorithm. The results from that analysis are
during testing of experimental parachute rigs for the summarized in Table 1. This table shows that the latest
Advanced Tactical Parachute System (ATPS), another decision algorithm is 100% effective upon this limited
program sponsored by the Program Manager - Soldier data set. Unfortunately the algorithm could not be
Support of U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical applied to older data sets because those older data sets
Command at Natick. The second data set was obtained were recorded with alternate sensor configuration.
during testing of the Universal Static Line, another
Natick program, and included many different towed
jumper scenarios (where a jumper's chute is caught by
the aircraft and the jumper is towed), which proved to
be more difficult to detect. More data from towed
jumper scenarios is needed before more strides can be
made in the effort to detect them.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

 (c)2001 American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics or Published with Permission of Author(s) and/or Author(s)' Sponsoring Organization.

The next obvious step for Cybernet is to gather more Decision

Drop Correct
data (complete with towed jumper scenarios) with the Drop Type Algorithm
Number Action
new sensor array to further test the robustness of the Result
decision algorithm, and to develop an algorithm for
detecting a towed jumper scenario. To facilitate this 1 Full Open None No Action
endeavor, Cybernet is in the process of developing a
third revision of the prototype, utilizing the same sensor 2 Full Open None No Action
array that was used in the last data set. Cybernet will 30% Activate Activate
manufacture on the order of one hundred of the third 3
Partial Reserve Reserve
revision prototypes so that data collection will not be 30% Activate Activate
limited by device availability. 4
Partial Reserve Reserve
Activate Activate
5% Partial
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There is no doubt that a device like the one Cybernet is 5

Reserve Reserve
developing would make a positive impact upon the Activate Activate
world of military skydiving. Perhaps Cybernet's next 6 5% Partial
Reserve Reserve
revision of the device will open the pathway to an Activate Activate
affordable military AAD. More importantly, the path 7 Free Fall
Reserve Reserve
might lead to the elimination of fatalities stemming Activate Activate
from certain types of malfunctions experienced by 8 Free Fall
Reserve Reserve
military paratroopers during training and operational
9 Full Open None No Action
exercises every year. The latest revision of the
Cybernet AAD will continue to be tested using the 10 Full Open None No Action
Army's Modified Improved Reserve Parachute System
(MIRPS) but in the future may be integrated into the 30% Activate Activate
11
reserve parachute component of the ATPS as part of a Partial Reserve Reserve
pre-planned product improvement (P3I) effort. 30% Activate Activate
12
Partial Reserve Reserve
Acknowledgements Activate Activate
13 5% Partial
Funding for this program has been provided by US Reserve Reserve
Army Natick Soldier Systems Center contract Activate Activate
14 5% Partial
#DAAD16-00-C-9210. We would like also like to Reserve Reserve
acknowledge the personnel at the U.S. Army Test Activate Activate
15 Free Fall
Center, Yuma Proving Ground for their support in the Reserve Reserve
dummy drop tests. Activate Activate
16 Free Fall
Reserve Reserve

Table 1. Automated Malfunction Decision

Algorithm results collected with the second
generation AADs augmented with a single
external pressure sensor.

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics