Commercial Vendors Colorado Engineering Inc. is developing the USTAR collision avoidance radar for use in the Global Hawk and other UAV platforms. Expanded SAA capability is achievable when the developed algorithms are used to exploit the USTAR. Ultra Electronics-Advanced Tactical Systems offers the Advanced Fusion and Tracking System (AFTS). The US Army's Tactical Airspace Integration System (TAIS) already uses Ultra's AFTS product for airspace management. Numerica's technology could be a plug-in for AFTS trajectory estimation and prediction modules, as well as Ultra's TacView user interface to automatically alert operators to potential airspace conflicts. US Military UAV Given the interest in developing UAV platforms, there is significant need to develop a sense and avoid for Navy UAV platforms. One development activity is the MQ-8B Fire Scout Vertical Take-Off and Landing Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (VTUAV). Another ongoing Navy development program is for the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance (BAMS) platform.
The technology developed could form the basis of systems designed to predict and prevent loss of separation between unmanned aerial vehicles and other aircraft. As NASA and the FAA continue development of the NextGen Airspace program through 2025, the need to safely integrate UAV's into the NAS will only grow. One possible application would be integrating the technology into a NASA simulation environment such as the Future ATM Concept Evaluation Tool (FACET). Discussions with NASA Ames Research Center have also indicated potential interest in the trajectory prediction innovations that could be applicable for tactical collision avoidance tools.
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