LoRAD = Low power RADAR sensor for use in collision detection on small Remotely Piloted Aircraft

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We are developing Remotely Piloted Aircraft ("RPA") for use in scientific (ice thicknessmonitoring), commercial (oil and mineral exploration) and state (border patrol) applications.The greatest technical challenge to the use of RPA, operating Beyond Visual Line Of Sight("BVLOS"), is the deployment of an effective, all weather, collision detection system,combined with an airborne collision avoidance capability.This is a requirement that has been raised at many RPA conferences and is top of the list oftechnology challenges noted by the European Defence Agency . It has also been arequirement of our potential RPA customers, including companies engaged in oil and gasexploration and production activities.Development of a solution has been very slow due to shrinking R&D budgets. We havealready demonstrated in prototype form a collision detection system based on the use of twocameras in a stereo imaging configuration. However, this solution can only be used on a clearday under Visual Flight Rules.We plan to explore the market for, and commercial viability of, a novel approach in which weuse a small RADAR unit, based on an enhancement to a relatively inexpensive andlightweight maritime (yacht) scanning RADAR unit, to augment a stereo vision system, toenable the detection of airborne objects (a) at night, (b) in cloud and (c) approaching from thesun. Initially we thought the use of a yacht RADAR unit might not be permitted on anairborne platform. However, we have noticed that the US Federal Aviation Authority hasauthorised the use of this very type of RADAR as an "Avian RADAR" at US airports, todetect birds at up to 2 km.There is currently a rapidly growing interest in the use of RPA in civilian applicationsthroughout the world. Apart from their application in "dull, dirty and dangerous" operations, asocietal benefit will be environmental, since RPA use less fuel than their manned counterpartsper kilometre travelled.