Sense and Avoid (SAA) for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have gained widespread popularity for several applications including Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), border patrol, disaster relief. However, practical issues in sharing the national airspace (NAS) safely with other manned aircraft has been a significant challenge. The main technology barrier is that the UAS lack the ability to "Sense and Avoid" other intruder aircraft in the NAS. The SAA capability will allow UAS to achieve an "equivalent level of safety", comparable to the "see-and-avoid" requirements for manned aircraft and ensure that UAS do not disrupt other airspace users.

In general, SAA can be decomposed into three main subfunctions: detecting and tracking intruder aircraft using onboard sensors, performing collision detection, i.e., deciding whether the intruder aircraft is on a collision course, and avoiding potential collisions. At UtopiaCompression, the focus is on developing low cost, size, weight and power (CSWaP) SAA solutions for small and medium-sized UAS. I am involved in several SAA projects from the Air Force and DARPA that are focused on the aforementioned three aspects of SAA.

Developing a Laser RADAR (LADAR) for SAA

We have designed a LADAR system to enhance existing passive systems for SAA applications, such as target tracking, ranging, and false alarm rejection.

Maneuverless Monocular Passive Ranging System (M2PARS)

We have developed a passive ranging algorithm that estimates range of moving targets without ownship maneuvers using only monocular cameras!

Collision Detection and Avoidance with Passive Sensors

Leveraging the range estimates from M2PARS, we have developed an effective collision detection rule that classifies oncoming air traffic into collision threats and non-collision traffic.

Work with UtopiaCompression team featured in the news

http://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2016-04-05a

http://www.engadget.com/2016/04/06/darpa-uav-mid-air-collisions/;

http://unmanned-aerial.com/darpa-flight-tests-demonstrate-optical-sense-and-avoid-capability/