Sense and Avoid Ladar for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) across the services need the capability to operate in civil airspace. Currently, the lack of Sense and Avoid (SAA) technology is the largest obstacle to this capability. The SAA problem is all the more challenging when dealing with non-cooperative traffic. For this problem, it is increasingly becoming clear that a suite of sensors is the solution. Electro-optical (EO) sensors are attractive because of their size, weight and power (SWaP) characteristics. However, range estimation using EO sensors has, in general, some degree of inaccuracy associated with it. Radars can be used to complement them but they may not meet the SWaP constraints of smaller UAS. A well-designed ladar has the potential to efficiently complement EO SAA technologies. In this proposal, UtopiaCompression, in collaboration with SAIC and University of Dayton, is proposing a novel ladar technology solution for UAS which will be optimized to work with passive EO sensors. Apart from providing accurate range estimates to intruder aircraft, the solution will also have fewer false alarms as compared to the passive only solution. The technology will be developed in such a way so as to be compatible with Air Force Research Laboratory’s existing SAA simulation facilities. BENEFIT: UtopiaCompression’s (UC) system will greatly benefit the Air Force and in general the Department of Defense (DoD) by enabling UAS to operate in a wider region of the airspace as well as take on more challenging missions. Wider access to the airspace is needed for training, security and surveillance and in general to execute missions efficiently. Looking beyond the DoD market, the Department of Homeland Security will also benefit from this technology. They now use the Certificates of Authorization (COA) process to get limited airspace access, but this is not viewed as operationally sustainable, especially as DHS deploys UAS assets to more challenging venues such as the southwest border. As its effectiveness in avoiding collisions is demonstrated, UC anticipates a move in the commercial aviation industry to adopt the technology as a pilot advisory system. This is similar to what happened with T-CAS (Traffic – Collision Avoidance System), a cooperative system for avoiding collisions based on exchanging data through transponder signals. T-CAS was conceived as an autonomous technology, but eventually adopted as an advisory system because the pilot in command is ultimately responsible for seeing and avoiding traffic as he executes maneuvers. All revenue traffic (airliners etc) now carry T-CAS. Similarly, SAA technology, which can detect non-cooperative traffic over a much larger volume of sky than a human and is never distracted, will improve pilot situation awareness and therefore flight safely. As economies of scale bring the price down to the T-CAS range and test data begin to demonstrate flight safety improvements, it seems reasonable to expect the FAA and commercial aviation entities will adopt technology. SAIC will support the transition effort for SAA Ladar technology. SAIC is well-positioned to bring the ladar technology to a level of maturity where it will be of interest to UAS program offices and prime contractors. Additionally, as UC has formal business relationship and collaborative arrangement for other SAA technologies with Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC), UC will work with NGC to transition the proposed Sense and Avoid Ladar for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles technology to the UAS programs by inserting the technology into the existing SAA transition plan now being ably executed by NGC. The UC team will maximize the likelihood of successful transition by working closely with Government stakeholders throughout the Program process. The largest catalyst for growth in the UAS sector has been, and for the next few years will continue to be, the government’s trend toward information warfare and net-centric systems. A senior analyst with the market research company, Teal Group, Steve Zaloga, identified UAS as a “key element in the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) portion” of this trend, with expansions into other missions expected, as well, with the advent of hunter-killer UAS. Worldwide UAS expenditures are expected to more than triple over the next decade from $2.7 billion annually to $8.3 billion. U.S. defense spending on UAS is projected to increase more than two-fold in the next decade, from $2 billion annually to $4.5 billion. Analysts anticipate that a civil market for UAVs will emerge more slowly over the next decade, beginning with government organizations with missions and needs similar to military UAS such as coast guards, border patrol organizations and similar national security organizations. Beyond military applications, the UC team believes that critical traction is being gained through the efforts of this SBIR program in a primary market with broad economic potential – the UAS market. The combination of UC’s Sense and Avoid Ladar, passive ranging (without the need to maneuver) and the cloud detection and avoidance technologies will provide far superior SAA capabilities for UAS than that which is currently available. This is an important enabling technology because despite a large degree of interest in UAS for a multitude of governmental and commercial purposes, adoption has been slow due to a number of technological and regulatory barriers. One of the most important remaining regulatory and technological barrier to broader adoption of UAS, both in government and commercial venues, is the certification of a system of technology, feedback, analysis and control which can reduce the risk of air to air collision down to that of a manned flight. The technology developed by UC for this SBIR program constitutes a critical enabling technology for removing this barrier. The UC team envisions adapting the resultant technology for ground applications in the future, including Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) and OEM automotive electronics applications such as adaptive cruise control (ACC), collision warning and headway control - a lucrative market that reached a size of $810 million in 2007. UC team is determined to demonstrate success with the Air Force as an initial customer and expand to other service branches and agencies. During Phase I, phase II development and beyond, the UC team will work closely with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) and SAA prime contractors to transition the technology.