PFI:AIR - TT: Proof of Concept Multifunction Micro-drone and Weather Surveillance System

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This PFI: AIR Technology Translation project focuses on demonstrating the use of low-cost radar systems for micro-drone and severe weather surveillance in urban and airport settings. The Federal Aviation Administration forecasts sales of seven million drones in 2020 following recent regulations allowing routine use of drones in the national airspace. While a vast majority of drone operators will likely follow the regulations and drones will be successfully monitored, non-cooperative drones or drones that have lost communication with their operators, will pose a significant threat to airport facilities where no intrusions should be allowed on the air field, critical infrastructure such as military bases or power reactors, and stadiums and arenas where drones can disrupt activities, endanger lives and cause economic losses. These facilities also risk similar outcomes when severe weather unexpectedly disrupts operations. This project will demonstrate the feasibility of a single radar-based surveillance system that can simultaneously provide early warning of drone intrusions and impending severe weather. The development of a multi-function surveillance system with multiple applications, could help make installations economical, with the costs shared between various agencies in new public-private partnership models of infrastructure acquisition, operations and data sharing.This project proposes the use of dual polarized phased array radars that can conduct rapid electronic scanning of the atmosphere to identify and discriminate between different hard targets such as micro-drones and birds and atmospheric targets such as hydrometeors, whose characteristics help determine the type of weather. This project will help develop an understanding of dual polarization radar signatures of various micro-drones, signal processing algorithms that help distinguish such targets from clutter in the low atmosphere, and new tracking algorithms tuned to the 'stop, hover and rapidly accelerate' movement of micro-drones. While the use of phased array radars to track severe weather has already resulted in early commercial prototypes, this project will result in design and operational strategies to conduct micro-drone and weather surveillance using the same system.Graduate students involved in this project will benefit from direct interaction with industry stakeholders and end users such as airport managers. This includes industry mentoring and participation in commercialization activities such as patent searches, intellectual property protection, and participation in business plan competitions. Teams of undergraduate students will be involved in systems engineering activities. The proof of concept demonstration to potential investors, manufacturers and customers, will lead to the specification of user requirements, development of commercial prototypes and eventually tenders and sales that result in installations. Partners includes firms such as Raytheon Company and Scientific Systems Company, Inc. that will help guide commercialization activities and end users such as Dallas Fort Worth International Airport that will provide end user needs and validate the proof-of-concept demonstration results.This project is jointly funded by the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships and the Division of Engineering Education; reflecting the alignment of this project with the respective goals of the two divisions and their programs.