DoD Adopts ASTM Int'l Sense-and-Avoid Standard For UAV Certifications
June 23, 2005
| |
| IHS Sells ASTM Documents |
| IHS is a leading provider of online access to large document collections from ASTM. For more information and a price quote, please complete the form below. |
|
The U.S. Department of Defense adopted a commercial standard to govern the performance of the automated sense-and-avoid systems it procures for its unmanned aircraft, according to ASTM International. The standard,
ASTM F 2411 - Specification for Design and Performance of an Airborne Sense-and-Avoid System, was developed last year by ASTM International's F38 Committee on Unmanned Aircraft Systems.
Automating sense-and-avoid is the key technical hurdle precluding unmanned aviation operating on an equal footing with manned aircraft, said ASTM International.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has implicitly relied on the eyesight of human pilots as the "last chance" means to avoid midair collisions when radar coverage is absent or transponders are inoperable or not installed. Without a human onboard, unmanned aircraft have lacked this "see-and-avoid" capability. A number of optical, infrared and radar systems are now emerging to provide what is termed "an equivalent level of safety" by automating the see-and-avoid capability of humans. ASTM F 2411 provides the first common yardstick against which to measure the performance and quality of such systems.
Although originating from an unmanned aviation requirement, ASTM F 2411 applies equally to improving the safety of manned aviation. Extensive analysis underlying ASTM F 2411 shows that human-based see-and-avoid is insufficient in certain midair scenarios. Automated sense-and-avoid systems could complement human shortfalls, thus helping to reduce the dozen or more midairs between manned aircraft that occur every year over the U.S.
Because ASTM F 2411 does not dictate using specific technologies, its stipulations need not drive overly expensive solutions, according to ASTM International. The marketplace is expected to produce a range of sense-and-avoid equipment to include low cost solutions.
For more technical information, contact Mike Goy of the Defense Standardization Program Office at (703) 767-6882 or mike.goy@dla.mil, or Mike Fagan, ASTM F38 Committee chairman, at (703) 684-2900 or mike_fagan@sra.com.
Source: ASTM International.