14-05-11 Hackers Are Good For Aerospace

No industry presents a more open and inviting target for hacking than aerospace,which includes companies of all sizes that are responsible for many of the worlds greatest and most imaginative accomplishments in science and engineering.They have the ability to push the frontiers of human capabilities and commercial endeavors through their leadership and vision.However,they lack an understanding of the hackers mentality.This is a serious weakness that aerospace companies must address or face severe consequences,since organizations that do have such an understanding will outpace them in technology innovation. Hackers are often depicted in popular media as nothing more than crackers individuals who break into computer systems.In reality,hacking is a critical step to empowering talented minds in industry to move forward on ill-defined problems that have no clear guidelines or road map to follow.Quite simply,hacking is the art of modifying a device or assembly for a purpose that was unintended by the original designers.For example,in a recent issue of Make,a popular do-it-yourself magazine,James Larsson explains that,with a hackers mentality, an old video recorder can be modified to become an automated cat-feeder.Simply add some mechanical parts and set the time of recording for when you want to feed your cat and the duration of recording for the amount of food to dish out.If you think the only link between aviation and an automated cat-feeder might be a listing in a future issue of the SkyMall catalog,consider Arduino an Italian company that pioneered a $30 open-source,easily programmable microcontroller platform.Microcontrollers are small,low-powered computers dedicated to one program and one set of tasks.They are used everywhere in auto dashboards for sensor readings,inside engines to determine faults,in cell phones,even toasters.But learning to use microcontrollers is challenging.The necessary skills were originally found only among highly trained engineers.Arduino allows a broader spectrum of users equal access to develop these capabilities.By creating a platform to engage the worlds builders and tinkerers,new and better designs,code and applications have been created,leading to some innovations already in the marketplace.

Many Arduino-like projects are detailed on the Internet,but my favorite is the Ardupilot.Created by Chris Anderson at DIY Drones,the Ardupilot is a $35 alternative to multi-thousand-dollar autopilots.DIY Drones has enabled a large hacker community to collaborate on iterative designs,progressively adding ever more sophisticated algorithms and capabilities,such as inertial measurement and Kalman filtering.My project team,under the auspices of the University of Michigan/Air Force Research Laboratory Collaborative Center in Control Science,kept a close eye on the progress and contributed to the development.We used these platforms as a jumping-off point to build high-level collaborative control algorithms for unmanned systems.We did this without worrying about proprietary software,costly hardware or arms control and export regulations.In the end,we were able to achieve our goals with the help of the many contributions from the hacker community.To begin harnessing the power of hacking,aerospace companies must first find and connect with do-it-yourself and hacker communities.Here they will find the curious, talented and motivated minds for fresh innovation.It is important to study how hacker spaces become thriving communities characterized by openness,a healthy disregard for conventional thinking and an interest in high-risk projects.The first two traits are essential to mitigate engineering risks as quickly and cheaply as possible.As aerospace companies work hard to develop the right culture,they must answer the question of how hacking can play an active role in the workplace.Companies with an open mind will find that the hackers mind-set is not necessarily about breaking into secure systems.And it is not meant as a replacement for thorough engineering design,development and testing.Instead,it can be a way to help achieve more rapid prototyping,as well as a cost-effective way to explore more innovative applications of existing technologies in a collaborative environment.In short,aerospace companies will find that the hackers mentality can identify new paths of discovery,while attracting and retaining the engineering talent that is so necessary to future success.

Credits Aviationweek.com