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UAS Conflict Detection and Resolution Using Differential Geometry Concepts
7.1 Introduction
The large-scale military application of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is generating operating experience and technologies that will enable the next phases of utilisation. An important driver for future growth of UAS is in the civil commercial sector, which could emerge as the largest user in due course. The employment of UAS for military operations and civil commercial use remains restricted to operations mostly in segregated airspace. Integrating UAS into non-segregated airspace is the key enabler for dramatic development of many new and innovative applications. Therefore, it is likely that UAS integration into non-segregated airspace will be enabled as demand from operators materialises. Collision detection and resolution (CD&R) – i.e., sense and avoid – would be a major step towards allowing UAS integration into non-segregated airspace.
The CD&R algorithm has been considered an important problem ever since aircraft were developed. Moreover, there have been numerous studies and implementations of it. Thus far most CD&R algorithms have been performed by air traffic control (ATC) from the ground station [1]. However, the ground station-based air traffic control would have limited coverage capability to cope with dramatic increases in air traffic [2]. Free flight including an autonomous CD&R algorithm, operated ...
