From the editors of the special issue: sense and avoid for unmanned systems: part ii

In this issue, we continue our two-part examination of Sense and Avoid (SAA) research for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) that was begun in July 2016 issue of the Aerospace and Electrical Systems (AES) Magazine. As we noted, much of the research focuses on what makes UAS different than manned aircraft, and what will be required to permit them to operate, integrated into airspace with other users. There are several key requirements for enabling these operations, but the most troublesome one continues to be how to provide the UAS with a “sense and avoid” capability, to replace the fundamental manned aircraft capability to “see and avoid”, as regulated by most countries and described in the U.S. FAA’s Code of Federal Regulation (14 CFR, Part 91.113). A great deal of effort over the past decade has gone into defining what SAA is, and what the aviation requirements are, for being able to adequately sense and avoid other aircraft in the environment around the UAS.