DARPA Demos Sense-and-Avoid System

“This successful flight test is a step toward adding external perception to ALIAS’ toolkit for advancing in-flight automation,” said Dr. Daniel Patt, a Program Manager in the Tactical Technology Office.One of the keys for unmanned aircraft operation – especially within the context of greater integration in U.S. national airspace – is reliable sense-and-avoid technology, but manned aircraft also could use a collision avoidance system that helps spot and evade oncoming traffic.The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency recently successfully tested a system that can work for both — a shoebox-sized, drop-in system for automatically detecting and avoiding mid-air collisions. The Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, or ALIAS, was demonstrated in a UAS, which detected and tracked in real time a Cessna 172G aircraft that approached from several angles.DARPA ALIAS Link:http://www.darpa.mil/program/aircrew-labor-in-cockpit-automation-system