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

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

GROUND CONTROL STATION WHAT IS A UAV SYSTEM ? UAV AIR SEGMENT AIR VEHICLE PROPULSION AVIONICS MISSION PAYLOAD DATA LINK LAUNCH & RECOVERY / TAKE OFF & LANDING SYSTEM GROUND CONTROL STATION OPERATORS UAV GROUND SEGMENT Aerospace

UAV Systems live in a complex world 00110011001000110 0011001100100011011101001001001110 Aerospace

Ground Control Station Payload operator Mission controller Thorough human factor studies has resulted in a dynamic and efficient working environment Aerospace

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... Aerospace

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 Aerospace

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. Aerospace

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 Aerospace

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 Aerospace

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 Aerospace

Existing co-operative technology : TCAS II TCAS #1 to Mode S #2 Who are you? What is your altitude? Mode S #1 to TCAS #2 I am aircraft #1 I am at 27 000 ft Mode S #2 to TCAS #1 I am aircraft #2 I am at 29 000 ft Climb ! -08 Automatic Modes must be introduced Safety Case to be developed Aerospace

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 Aerospace

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 Aerospace

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 Alert to Ground Operator Managed by Ground Operator & ATC STRATEGIC AWARENESS Management of potential hazards: Terrain Traffic Weather TACTICAL AWARENESS Alerts on threats Terrain Traffic Weather REACTIVE MODES Safety Net Aerospace

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. Aerospace