A monitoring device includes a sensor module disposed between an aeroshell and a cavity assembly. A surface of the aeroshell and a surface of the cavity assembly may form a flow-facing surface of the monitoring device. A junction area on the flow-facing surface within which the aeroshell abuts the cavity assembly may be a smooth surface to minimize the disruption to the surrounding flow of fluid. The sensor module may sample the absolute pressure from ports distributed about the flow-facing surface. The absolute pressure measurements may be used to compute the velocity of the fluid flow, including speed and/or direction. The monitoring device may be powered by inductively received energy or harvested energy. In one variant of the monitoring device, the monitoring device may be constructed from an electrically coupled mosaic of flexible thin-profile tiles, each of which may be responsible for one functional aspect of the monitoring device.

Methods and systems are provided for utilization of vehicle speed and barometric pressure sensors. In one example, a method may include measuring a change in a barometric pressure resulting from a measured change in a vehicle speed, modeling the change in the barometric pressure based on a change in a ram-air pressure resulting from the change in the vehicle speed, and indicating a degraded barometric pressure measurement when a difference between the measured and the modeled change in the barometric pressure is greater than a threshold pressure difference.

Methods and systems are provided for utilization of vehicle speed and barometric pressure sensors. In one example, a method may include measuring a change in a barometric pressure resulting from a measured change in a vehicle speed, modeling the change in the barometric pressure based on a change in a ram-air pressure resulting from the change in the vehicle speed, and indicating a degraded barometric pressure measurement when a difference between the measured and the modeled change in the barometric pressure is greater than a threshold pressure difference.

A sensor assembly that includes a substrate and a set of sensors. The set of sensor includes pressure sensor and/or flow sensors located across a surface of the substrate. Each respective sensor of the plurality of sensor is adapted to measure a respective pressure or a respective flow of an environment proximate the respective sensor. Each respective sensor of the plurality of sensor may further be adapted to output a respective signal associated with the measured respective pressure or the measured respective flow. The respective signals associated with the measured respective pressure or the measured respective flows measured by the plurality of sensor together provide a pressure distribution across the surface of the substrate and/or a flow distribution across the surface of the substrate.

Described are various embodiments of an air-speed sensor, system and airspeed monitoring process digitally implemented thereby or in relation thereto. In one such embodiment, a sensor comprises a sensor casing having a leading surface and having plural distinctly oriented input ports defined therein to capture a respective air pressure at each one thereof; respective pressure sensors disposed within said casing in fluid communication with respective ones of said input ports to sense said respective air pressure for each one thereof; and a digital processor operatively coupled to each of said pressure sensors to digitally compute respective pressure ratios between said input ports and compare said ratios against designated pressure ratios corresponding to designated incident airspeed angles of incidence to output an airspeed incident angle and airspeed accordingly.

Described are various embodiments of an air-speed sensor, system and airspeed monitoring process digitally implemented thereby or in relation thereto. In one such embodiment, a sensor comprises a sensor casing having a leading surface and having plural distinctly oriented input ports defined therein to capture a respective air pressure at each one thereof; respective pressure sensors disposed within said casing in fluid communication with respective ones of said input ports to sense said respective air pressure for each one thereof; and a digital processor operatively coupled to each of said pressure sensors to digitally compute respective pressure ratios between said input ports and compare said ratios against designated pressure ratios corresponding to designated incident airspeed angles of incidence to output an airspeed incident angle and airspeed accordingly.

A fixed-wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle configured with a composite adaptive nonlinear tracking controller that utilizes a real-time accurate estimation of the complex aerodynamic forces surrounding the wing(s) and rotors in order to achieve a high performance flight. The method employs online adaptation of force models, and generates accurate estimation for wing and rotor forces in real-time based on information from a three-dimensional airflow sensor. The novel three-dimensional airflow sensor illustrates improved velocity tracking and force prediction during the transition stage from hover to forward flight.

An assembly for monitoring air flow at a surface of a rotor blade of a wind turbine is provided. The assembly includes (a) a surface module adapted to be arranged at a predetermined location of the rotor blade surface, the surface module including two air inlets facing opposite directions along an axis, (b) a sensor module including two pressure sensors, wherein one of the two pressure sensors is in fluidic communication with one of the two air inlets and the other one of the two pressure sensors is in fluidic communication with the other one of the two air inlets, wherein the sensor module is adapted to output two pressure signals indicative of the pressures sensed by the two pressure sensors, and (c) a processing unit adapted to determine at least one of a flow direction and a flow speed along the axis based on the two pressure signals.

A monitoring device includes a sensor module disposed between an aeroshell and a cavity assembly. A surface of the aeroshell and a surface of the cavity assembly may form a flow-facing surface of the monitoring device. A junction area on the flow-facing surface within which the aeroshell abuts the cavity assembly may be a smooth surface to minimize the disruption to the surrounding flow of fluid. The sensor module may sample the absolute pressure from ports distributed about the flow-facing surface. The absolute pressure measurements may be used to compute the velocity of the fluid flow, including speed and/or direction. The monitoring device may be powered by inductively received energy or harvested energy. In one variant of the monitoring device, the monitoring device may be constructed from an electrically coupled mosaic of flexible thin-profile tiles, each of which may be responsible for one functional aspect of the monitoring device.

A monitoring device includes a sensor module disposed between an aeroshell and a cavity assembly. A surface of the aeroshell and a surface of the cavity assembly may form a flow-facing surface of the monitoring device. A junction area on the flow-facing surface within which the aeroshell abuts the cavity assembly may be a smooth surface to minimize the disruption to the surrounding flow of fluid. The sensor module may sample the absolute pressure from ports distributed about the flow-facing surface. The absolute pressure measurements may be used to compute the velocity of the fluid flow, including speed and/or direction. The monitoring device may be powered by inductively received energy or harvested energy. In one variant of the monitoring device, the monitoring device may be constructed from an electrically coupled mosaic of flexible thin-profile tiles, each of which may be responsible for one functional aspect of the monitoring device.