Increased usage of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), also known as drones, has also increased safety concerns for aircraft and its passengers. New Mexico State University is part of a team helping the Federal Aviation Administration test drone detection and/or avoidance technology for aircraft.

“All of this testing is about safety,” said Henry Cathey, NMSU Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) research and development engineering manager. “Flight safety is number one. We want to make sure folks who are in an aircraft can fly safely with UAS or drones in the air.”

As one of the seven FAA-approved UAS test sites, NMSU’s PSL hosted three days of flight testing, July 16-18, for an FAA project at the Jornada Experimental Range, north of Las Cruces.

FLIGHT TESTING

The flight testing involved various flying encounter scenarios between UAS and manned aircraft to determine if the UAS could detect the aircraft and respond with a maneuver to avoid it. An artificial intelligence-based autonomous collision avoidance system from Iris Automation called Casia was used on the UAS to help it see the world as a pilot does.

Joe Millette, New Mexico State University unmanned aerial systems pilot, and Cheryl Contreras, Iris Automation deputy head of flight operations, manage flight operations during detect and avoid technology flight testing NMSU hosted in July for the Federal Aviation Administration.

EXPECTATIONS

Iris Automation CEO and co-founder Alexander Harmsen, who attended the flight testing, said he was pleased with how his system responded.

“The system is doing everything we expect it to do,” he said. “We’re having these encounters. The system detects the aircraft, tracks it and classifies it. It is able to tell the difference between a drone, a helicopter, a small, fixed-wing aircraft, and a cloud or a bird.”

As one of 15 universities for the FAA UAS Center of Excellence, NMSU is also working with the University of North Dakota, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Kansas State University and Mississippi State University on the research project. NMSU, UND and UAF are hosting flight testing on detect and avoid solutions.

Officials present for the testing included NMSU personnel, FAA sponsors, FAA technical leads, FAA interns, Iris Automation flight personnel, industry representatives, UND and UAF personnel.

Other technology solutions also were tested, including ground-based, visual/optical systems and in the future, radar and acoustic.

“We are trying to help push those technology solutions forward. There are going to be more vehicles in the air in the coming years and we want it to be done safely,” Cathey said.

The FFA project tested was the “Task A18: Small UAS Detect and Avoid Requirements Necessary for Limited Beyond Visual Line of Sight Operations: Separation Requirements and Testing.”

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