Experimental analysis of onboard non-cooperative sense and avoid solutions based on radar, optical sensors, and data fusion

This article summarized processing approaches and presented an experimental analysis of the levels of situational awareness relevant to different sensing architectures for non-cooperative sense and avoid, based on standalone radar, standalone EO, and radar/EO data fusion, respectively. In summary, presented experimental results leave the door open for various sensing solutions. This depends on the different weight, size, power, and cost budgets available for different UAS classes, on the possible approaches for sensing system design (development of ad hoc sensors vs. integration of existing ones), and on the fact that the impact of the different situational awareness levels on collision avoidance safety strongly depends on the unmanned aircraft maneuverability and on the dynamics of obstacles present in the considered airspace scenario.