Vigilant Aerospace Systems has been awarded a USD1 million year-long project to develop a civilian version of the company’s onboard collision avoidance system for drones. The onboard “detect-and-avoid” (DAA) system was initially developed for the US Air Force Research Lab. The project is funded in part through the Industry Innovation Program at the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST), according to the company in a press release.
“The project will continue development of FlightHorizon PILOT, the company’s onboard multi-sensor DAA system,” said the company. “DAA is the capability for an uncrewed drone to detect and track other aircraft and generate an avoidance command to maintain safe distances. The project aims to develop a smaller, highly modular and commercially priced version suitable for all sizes of civilian uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) to support the increasing variety of commercially operated drones in the U.S. Future users will also include Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) vehicles, like air taxis.”
Onboard DAA capabilities are increasingly critical for scaling BVLOS operations, said the company. The recent FAA draft rules for routine drone flight beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the pilot require standards-based safety systems to be usable and to scale the autonomous aircraft industry. The DAA system is based on two licensed NASA patents and can utilize aircraft transponders (ADS-B In) and small onboard radars. It is intended to help drones fly safely over long distances for missions like search and rescue, fire and disaster response, emergency deliveries and other purposes.
The project will be completed with research partner Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education (OAIRE) at Oklahoma State University. OAIRE is providing engineering support and flight testing at the OSU Uncrewed Aircraft Flight Station.
(Image: FlightHorizon PILOT, the onboard DAA system behind this project)
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