Dr David Anderson
- Reader (Autonomous Systems & Connectivity)
telephone:
01413305918
email:
Dave.Anderson@glasgow.ac.uk
R721 Level 7, Aerospace Sciences, James Watt Building South, Glasgow G12 8QQ
Research interests
Biography
Dr Anderson was awarded a first class honours degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Glasgow in 1994. He then completed his PhD study (thesis entitled “active control of turbulence induced helicopter vibration”), also from Glasgow University in 1997. Following this he was employed as a senior sightline control engineer by SELEX Galileo Sensors & Airborne Systems (then BAE SYSTEMS) in Edinburgh where he designed the precision pointing & stabilisation controllers on a number of airborne electro-optic systems. In 2001 he moved to industrial systems & control to take a position as a principal technical consultant. This role was principally one of technology transfer with Dr Anderson providing research support to the Industrial Control Centre at the University of Strathclyde and then ‘re-interpreting’ these results for industrial clients in the aerospace, defence and automotive sectors. In 2004 he re-joined the University of Glasgow as a lecturer in aerospace systems and was promoted to senior lecturer in 2011.
Research Interests
Dr Anderson has a number of research interests all centred on the general theme of autonomous systems, with particular emphasis on Survivability and Airborne Surveillance (SAS).
- Nonlinear Sightline Control. This research topic centres on new methods for pointing & stabilisation, image processing and target tracking for (prediminantly) airborne electro-optic systems.
- Multi-Agent, Multi-Resolution Simulation. Development of large-scale, multiple fidelity battlefield simulation for operational analysis through to detailed engineering simulation using a proprietary simulation engine.
- Platform Survivability. Integration of sightline and nonlinear flight control techniques for maximising the survivability of rotorcraft to rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack.
- Guidance,Navigation & Control. Researching novel algorithms for single and multi-platform GNC. Application areas include robust path planning, swarm control, missile guidance etc.
- Rotocraft Simulation. Conventional forward and inverse simulation of rotorcraft.
Expertise
Dr Anderson has significant expertise in the general areas of modelling, simulation and control of complex systems. In particular he has over 15 years experience of writing aircraft flight mechanics codes for both fixed and rotary-wing aircraft in both low-level (fortran, C++) and high-level (MATLAB, SIMULINK, Mathcad) API’s. He also has experience in the systems engineering design and modelling of airborne electro-optic systems, radar, inertial navigation systems and integrated control solutions. He also has extensive experience of experimental test and validation of his control codes (C/C++ and LabVIEW) as several of his designs are currently deployed on in-service equipment.
Grants
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EPSRC Grant GR/S91024/01 – “Improved Inverse Simulation Using Nonlinear Predictive Methods”, October 2004-March 2008, Value £153,285. (Co-Holder Dr D. Thomson)
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SELEX Sensors & Airborne Systems, “High bandwidth Laser Spot Tracking Control”, 2006, Value £10,000.
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EPSRC Grant EP/D057558/1 – “Nonlinear Sightline Control”, Sept. 2006 – Sept. 2008, Value £117,275.
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SELEX Sensors & Airborne Systems, “Development of Evolutionary and Robust Design Tools for Optimal Tuning of Stabilisation Loops”, 2007, Value £7,500.
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SELEX Sensors & Airborne Systems, “Nadir MPC Implementation Improvement Study”, 2008, Value £5000.
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EPSRC Grant EP/F031734/1 – “Nonlinear High Performance Real-time Control”, Aug 2009 – July 2010, Value £108,399.
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SELEX Galileo, “SELEX Galileo Unmanned Airborne Systems laboratory”, July 2010-June 2013. Value £10,000.
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Innovation Network First-Step Award, “Rapidly deployable micro-UAV feasibility study”, June 2010-August 2010. Value £5000.
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SELEX Galileo CASE Study Student Sponsorship, “A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Complexity Issues in Multi-Fidelity Aerospace Systems Models”, September 2010-May 2014. Value £24,500.
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Boeing Commercial Aircraft, Seattle "Ed Wells Initiative Invited Training Course – Optimisation in Aerospace Control". March 2011. Value £1500.
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DSTL, "Risk Assessment of Helicopter Platform Threats in Current Operational Scenarios", April 2011 – June 2011. Value £31,000. (Co-Holder Dr D. Thomson).
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DSTO “Novel Modelling and Simulation Techniques for Helicopter Operations Research”. Nov 2011 –May 2015. Value £105,000 (Co-Holder Dr D. Thomson)
Supervision
Current Students
N. Nunes “Assessing Helicopter Survivability to Ground Launched Projectiles Using Multi-Fidelity Simulation”, M.Sc.
S. Shahrul “Improved Autogyro Flying Qualities Using Automatic Control Methods”, PhD.
M. Ireland "A Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Complexity Issues in Multi-Fidelity Aerospace Systems Models", PhD.
- Ewers, Jan-Hendrik
Machine Learning Driven Search and Rescue. - Gibbs, Joe
Invariant State Estimation and Differential Geometry in Future Target Tracking Algorithms
Teaching
- Aerospace control 1. MSc course (10 credits) now offered as the de-facto control course for 4th year across the school and the MSc's.
- Real-Time Control & Hardware Implementation (10 credit MSc).
- Avionics Systems 4 (20 credit Undergraduate).
- Navigation (10 credits MSc).
- Radar & Electro-Optic Systems (10 credits MSc).
- Team Design Project 3 (10 credits Undergraduate).
- Team Design Project 4 (10 credits Undergraduate). Course to be delivered in 2012/2013 session
- Systems Engineering Process 4 (10 credits Undergraduate). Course to be delivered in 2012/2013 session.
- Advanced Control Systems Engineering 5 (20 Credits level 5 Undergraduate).