NASA FAA GA-ASI and Honeywell commence Third UAS sense-and-avoid tests

UAS Magazine – The Latest News on Unmanned Aerial Systems - NASA commences UAS sense-and-avoid tests
From mid-June through July, the agency’s project on UAS Integration in the National Airspace System (NAS) will conduct flight testing of sense-and-avoid technology at the NASA Armstrong Fight Research Center in California. These flights will conduct the first full test of an automatic collision avoidance capability on autonomous aircraft. Participating in the tests are the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and Honeywell International Inc.
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• UAS Integration in the NAS Project Baseline Review

The sense-and-avoid flight tests at Armstrong are the third in a series of tests building on similar experiments conducted late last year to demonstrate a proof-of-concept sense-and-avoid system. The tests engage the core air traffic infrastructure and supporting software components through a live and virtual environment to demonstrate how an autonomous aircraft interacts with air traffic controllers and other air traffic.

Ikhana aircraft, based at Armstrong, equipped
with an updated sense-and-avoid system

NASA, Partners Test Unmanned Aircraft Systems -- WASHINGTON, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

This series of tests is made up of two phases. The first is focused on validation of sensor, trajectory and other simulation models using live data. Some of the tests will be flown with an Ikhana aircraft, based at Armstrong, that has been equipped with an updated sense-and-avoid system. The system includes a new traffic collision avoidance program and other advanced software from Honeywell.

Other tests will involve an S-3B plane from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, serving as a high-speed piloted surrogate aircraft. Both tests will use other aircraft following scripted flight paths to intrude on the flight path the autonomous craft is flying, prompting it to either issue an alert or maneuver out of the other aircraft's path. These flights will also conduct the first full test of an automatic collision avoidance capability on autonomous aircraft.

During the June 17 test, which lasted a little more than five hours, the team accomplished 14 encounters using the Ikhana aircraft and a Honeywell-owned Beech C90 King Air acting as the intruder. A second test was flown the following day, with a total of 23 encounters. The project team plans to fly more than 200 encounters throughout the first phase of the test series.

"Our researchers and project engineers will be gathering a substantial amount of data to validate their pilot maneuver guidance and alerting logic that has previously been evaluated in simulations," said Heather Maliska, Armstrong's UAS-NAS deputy project manager.

The second phase of the third test series will begin in August and will include a T-34 plane equipped with a proof-of concept control and non-payload communications system. It will evaluate how well the systems work together so that the aircraft pilots itself, interacts with air traffic controllers and remains well clear of other aircraft while executing its operational mission. The aircraft, which will have an onboard safety pilot, will fly an operationally representative mission in a virtual airspace sector complete with air traffic control and live and virtual traffic.

For more information about NASA's aeronautics research, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics

For more information on the UAS-NAS project, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/1dOi6Qz 

Previously/Background:

• Nasa and partners trial new system for unmanned aircraft - Aerospace Technology
• UAS Integration in the NAS Project Baseline Review 
• NASA, government, and industry partner to test UAS sense-and-avoid technology - Intelligent Aerospace 
• spendergast: NAVAIR picks Small Business RDRTec to develop sense-and-avoid radar for Fire Scout and Triton unmanned aircraft 
• spendergast: Air Force funds DRA with SBIR for UAV SAA system 
• spendergast: GA-ASI, FAA, and NASA team to develop and test UAV Sense and Avoid 
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