Droner - Sense-and-avoid i USAF- UAS Vision

The US Air Force has released a request for information notice requesting sense-and-avoid technologies for large RPAs – Predators and Global Hawks – though the notice said that respondents are encouraged to include sense and avoid technologies for smaller RPA such as the hand-launched Wasp and Raven.

The goal of the notice is to identify the technologies available for RPAs, including commercial-off-the shelf and government-off-the-shelf solutions as well as technologies under development.

The ability of unmanned aircraft to sense its surroundings and avoid obstacles and other craft is seen as a key enhancement for RPAs as well as essential to any kind of autonomous or semi-autonomous systems, whether military or commercial. Domestically, the Federal Aviation Administration requires sense and avoid technology for any flights that take place beyond the operator’s line of sight.

According to the notice, responses are expected to address issues including, but not limited to:

• Strategies for airworthiness certification and operational approval of the proposed solution.
• Information assurance and cyber security implementation.
• Solution characteristics of open systems and open architectures.
• Strategies for adherence / certification to quality management practices.
• Technology readiness level.
• Manufacturing readiness level.
• Strategies for reliability and maintainability.
• Strategies for system security and survivability.
• Strategies for addressing critical program information.

Responses are due by Feb 15, 2016.