Sense

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Sense Avoid for UAV Systems
ASAS TN 2 Meeting, Glasgow September 12th 2006

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Agenda

• What is a UAV System
• The Sense Avoid Function for UAV Systems
• Relationship with Air Traffic Control
• Potential solutions
• Conclusion

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WHAT IS A UAV SYSTEM ?
UAV AIR SEGMENT
AIR VEHICLE
MISSION PAYLOAD
AVIONICS
PROPULSION
DATALINK
LAUNCH RECOVERY / TAKE OFF LANDING SYSTEM
GROUND CONTROL STATION
OPERATORS
UAV GROUND SEGMENT
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UAV Systems live in a complex world
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Ground Control Station
Payload operator
Mission controller
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Applications

• UAV Systems have a high probability to be
  developed for an increasing number of
  applications
• Military systems surveillance and target
  designation (ISTAR), countermeasures, weapon
  delivery, etc...
• Security border surveillance, maritime
  surveillance, anti-terrorism, sensitive sites
  surveillance, etc...
• Civil applications forest fire detection,
  pollution detection, agriculture, fishing, etc...

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UAV Systems specificities and constraints

• No Pilot on board implies
• Situation awareness only based on data acquired
  by sensors, downloaded and analysed by to the
  ground operator (not equivalent to a pilot)
• Latency exist due to the data transfer between
  the Air Vehicle and the ground station (up and
  down)
• New failure configurations
• Loss of Data Link a sufficient level of
  autonomy is necessary
• Sensor Failure may be critical
• No pilot able to See and Avoid , or Detect and
  Avoid neither in VMC nor in IFR

The  Sense And Avoid  function replaces the
 detect and avoid  in all situations
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The Sense Avoid Function

• The global objective is to allow UAV Systems to
  operate safely within the non segregated civil
  and military airspace on a routinely basis.
• For this purpose, the UAV must be able to
  identify and be identified by the surrounding
  traffic as well as by the ATC.
• Sense Avoid solutions must be agreed by
  Airworthiness and Operations authorities, and
  economically reasonable for Industry.
• Sense and Avoid solutions are a must for UAV
  Systems, but may lead to benefits for manned
  aircraft safety.

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Regulation approach

• Demonstrate an Equivalent Level of Safety between
  manned and unmanned aircraft
• Make the difference between manned and unmanned
  aircraft transparent to ATC and to other users
• However, UAV have specific characteristics to be
  known by ATC

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Basic needs for Sense Avoid

• Sense Avoid should basically offer the
  capability
• To provide traffic awareness to the pilot /
  operator
• To perform avoidance manoeuvre in case of high
  collision risk
• Traffic awareness
• Co-operative traffic
• Surrounding traffic carrying Off the shelf
  equipment enabling exchanges, like Transponders
  Mode S, or emerging technologies like ASAS/ADS-B
• Non co-operative traffic
• Air vehicles not fitted with such equipment
  general aviation, gliders, balloons, parachutes,
  ...
• Then the solution should need new sensors to
  replace visual acquisition
• Avoidance manoeuvre
• Safety net to be performed timely, based on
  traffic information and if possible shared
  decisions
• Typical current answer is the TCAS

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Additional needs

• A global situation awareness system should also
  include
• Terrain awareness
• TAWS are mandatory on most of the aircraft
• Terrain collision avoidance is also a need, in
  UAV Systems, for safety of on ground population
• Weather awareness
• The on-ground pilot must also be aware of weather
  threats (precipitations, windshears, ) in order
  to avoid hazardous situations
• Global situation awareness should be equivalent
  for manned and unmanned aircraft

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Existing co-operative technology TCAS II
Climb !

• Automatic Modes must be introduced
• Safety Case to be developed

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Non co-operative technologies

• Technologies available for Non Co-operative
  traffic
• Light, medium range radars
• All weather recognition of other traffic by UAV
• Transfer of traffic information to Ground
  Operator
• Retasking by Ground Operator
• Automatic retasking ?
• EO/IR techniques
• Specific EO cameras low cost solution
• Can be improved by IR
• Why not use EO/IR payload when available (en
  route) ?

• Flight Tests / Simulations must be performed
• Safety Case to be developed
• Non co-operative technologies should complement
  co-operative

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Emerging technologies

• ASAS / ADS-B may be useful for UAV Systems
• ADS-B OUT transfer of information (location,
  speed, UAV identification...) from UAV to other
  users and ATC
• ADS-B IN Improved traffic situational awareness
  for UAV operators
• If possible in the future 4D trajectories
  exchange
• Potential delegation of specific spacing tasks to
  UAV Operators, like
• Sequencing and Merging
• TIS-B (Traffic Information Services Broadcast)
• ground station may broadcast aircraft information
  gathered by various means
• Civil aviation emerging technologies may provide
  anticipated and consolidated situation awareness
  to UAV operators

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Potential Sense Avoid solutions

• Technologies
• Technologies exist to provide a Sense Avoid
  system for UAV
• A mix of co-operative and non co-operative
  techniques is likely to be necessary
• ASAS / ADS-B techniques seem promising for Sense
  Avoid
• Final system
• Should provide a global situation awareness to
  UAV Operators in any configuration of traffic

Automatic
Managed by Ground Operator ATC
Alert to Ground Operator
REACTIVE MODES
Safety Net
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Conclusion

• UAV Systems are newcomers in the Air Traffic
• ADS-B / ASAS techniques may be a good answer to
  Sense Avoid issues for UAV Systems, and need to
  be analysed as such
• Consequently, UAV Systems may be potential actors
  within the ADS-B / ASAS world and may have to
  exchange information with other users and ATC
• Developments made for UAV Systems (automatic
  modes, enhanced situation awareness, ...) might
  reciprocally be beneficial to other civil
  aviation applications.