IR Beacon System for Assisted or Automated Landing of Aircraft

OKSI proposes to design an optical system to support assisted or automated precision approach of fixed or rotary wing aircraft, or other low altitude airspace operations, under diverse weather conditions. The Infrared Beacon System (IRBS) will utilize beacon lighting located near the landing site and an optimized imaging and processing system onboard the aircraft. Automated software will extract observed light positions to generate aircraft position and attitude data relative to the landing site. This precise navigational guidance will be provided to the pilot or to another control system for use during approach and landing. In Phase-I, the concept will be developed in detail, including selection of lighting sources, operating wavebands, imager technology, and frame rates. The end-to-end system performance and accuracy will be simulated over a diverse set of weather and solar conditions, and preliminary concepts for output interfaces will be developed. Based on the Phase-I investigations, a prototype system will be developed and demonstrated in Phase-II.