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Integration of SAA Capabilities into a UAS Distributed Architecture for Civil Applications
3.1 Introduction
In this chapter the integration of ‘sense and avoid’ (SAA) capabilities into a distributed architecture for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is discussed. The presented UAS architecture provides a framework that enables rapid development and integration of hardware and software components required for a wide range of civil missions. This framework includes a number of common services,1 which are envisioned as necessary for most missions – such as flight plan management, mission management and contingency management, among others.
One of the most important issues that needs to be addressed when developing a UAS architecture is SAA. This chapter tackles SAA from two perspectives. Firstly, it discusses integration of SAA capabilities in mission-oriented architecture. In contrast with commercial aviation, where missions mostly consist of flying from an initial location to a given destination, unmanned systems may be used in a wide variety of situations. The UAS response in case of conflict has to be defined in a way that minimizes its impact on the mission being carried out. Secondly, system design and operations considerations aimed at making the UAS behavior more predictable and facilitating conflict prevention are also provided.
The proposed architecture ...
