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Unmanned Aircraft Systems Sense and Avoid Avionics Utilizing ADS-B Transceiver
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2009
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Collision Avoidance AlgorithmsEngineeringAutonomous SystemsUnmanned VehicleUnmanned Aircraft ControlAerospace SystemsU.s. National AirspaceAir Vehicle SystemUnmanned SystemSystems EngineeringAir Traffic ControlAvionicsUnmanned Aerial VehiclesFlight ValidationUncrewed Aircraft SystemsAvionics SystemAir Traffic ManagementAircraft SystemsAviation SystemsAerial RoboticsAerospace EngineeringAircraft Systems SenseUnmanned Aerial SystemsFlight Control Systems
The FAA requires UAS operating in the U.S. National Airspace to have ADS‑B out equipage by 2020, and lightweight ADS‑B units now enable small UAS to meet this safety requirement. This study models collision‑avoidance algorithms that use ADS‑B derived information within a software‑in‑the‑loop environment.
To integrate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the U.S. National Airspace (NAS), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires “an equivalent level of safety, comparable to see -and -avoid requirements for manned aircraft.” A pr oposed FAA rulemaking would mandate Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast ( ADS -B) out equipage by 2020, forcing aircraft flying in the NAS to broadcast their state vector to Air Traffic Control (ATC) and aircraft equipped with ADS -B in capability . With the advent of lightweight, low power, and low -cost ADS -B units, the equipage and the use of ADS -B transceivers on small UAS are no longer limited by payload and power capabilities , and represent promising opportunities for the regulated operation of sm all UAS in the NAS. T he University of North Dakota (UND) has been actively developing enabling sense and avoid (SAA) technologies under a series of projects funded by the Department of Defense , and is now turning to ADS -B as the central component for mid -air collision avoidance . This paper presents the results of modeling collision avoidance algorithms using ADS -B derived information in a software -in -the -loop (SWIL) environment . Upon extensive testing, the system is designed to be integrated seamlessly in to a hardware -in -the -loop (HWIL) environment, and ultimately in a flight test environment aboard a small UAS.