Flight Testing of an ADS-B-based Miniature 4D Sense and Avoid System for Small UAS

Abstract

The University of North Dakota has been actively developing enabling airborne sense and avoid (SAA) technologies under a series of projects funded by the Department of Defense, and has selected the Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) transceiver as one of its central components for cooperative aircraft mid-air collision avoidance. The system integrates a 4D (i.e., latitude, longitude, altitude, and time) SAA algorithm dependent on UAS dynamic performance factors. This paper presents the results of implementation and flight testing of a miniaturized collision avoidance system using ADS-B derived information. The flight test results that took place onboard a small UAS in the summer of 2010 demonstrate that a complex airborne SAA system utilizing an ADS-B transceiver can be integrated into a small UAS vehicle to improve safety and eventually allow integration of UAS vehicles into the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS).