Risk Assessment of Flight Paths for Automatic Emergency Parachute Deployment in UAVs

This paper presents models for the risk assessment and generation of flight paths, which support the automatic deployment of emergency parachutes for unmanned aerial vehicles in emergencies due to loss of propulsion. Based on a risk analysis of the area underneath the flight path, suitable deployment positions are identified, which minimize the chance of endangering humans on the ground, property damage and loss of the air vehicle. Additionally, the flight path selection is guided by constraints, such as control data link availability or aircraft performance.