Development of an Extended Reality Simulator for Small UAS Full Mission Training

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) have become ubiquitous throughout numerous industries. Due to this, there is a fast-growing demand for pilots to operate these aircraft. Flight simulation of the sUAS is sometimes used to help with training pilots to fly these aircraft, but the current levels of sUAS simulators are woefully inadequate. This paper addresses the development of a robust sUAS flight simulator that employs Extended Reality to provide an immersive training environment for robust full mission training regimens. The initial implementation, which is already in production, provides the ability for pilots to train on both multicopter and fixed wing sUAS. In addition, the flight simulator has the capability for pilots to perform all functions of a flight mission, from flying the aircraft to communication with the mission team. Multiple crew stations allow for multiple aircraft to be flown simultaneously by different pilots. Future work on the simulator will be focused on improving the fidelity and capabilities of the flight simulator.