New Technologies, Standards and Developments in the Delivery of Viable Detect-and-Avoid Systems for BVLOS Commercial UAS
an XPONENTIAL 2021 Panel Session
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 2:00 – 2:45 PM ET
Venue: ONLINE Session description: Detect-and-avoid systems to allow unmanned aircraft to avoid conflicts with manned aircraft when flown beyond the visual line of sight of the pilot is critical to expanding the UAS industry, providing safety, obtaining public and regulatory trust, and delivering the full economic impact of real autonomy. The industry is eager for the release of detect-and-avoid safety systems that are reliable, portable or on-board, affordable and standards-compliant. Developing this system is challenging due to the need to integrate multiple sensors, develop algorithms and demonstrate working technology in actual field conditions. Meeting this challenge represents the leading edge of technical capability and innovation in the UAS industry but is now closer than ever to being ready for delivery. This panel discussion will review the status of detect-and-avoid technology, the impact of recent technical and system innovations, ongoing development and testing efforts involving multiple national stakeholders, review of new standards and rules, and review of the remaining challenges to delivery of a full DAA system for commercial UAS. This presentation will also specifically review the status of an FAA-supported detect-and-avoid system development and testing effort being conducted in cooperation with a national UAS Test Site. Panelists Participants in the panel will include moderator and panelist Kraettli L. Epperson, CEO and co-founder of Vigilant Aerospace, which provides the FlightHorizon airspace management system, panelist Dr. Cathy Cahill, Director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI), and panelist Mo Hartney the Director of Applications Engineering at Echodyne.
 Kraettli L. Epperson, CEO of Vigilant Aerospace Systems |
Kraettli L. Epperson is the CEO and Co-Founder of Vigilant Aerospace Systems, the provider of the FlightHorizon detect-and-avoid and airspace awareness system. Epperson is an active member of the ASTM F38 Committee on technical standards, performance requirements and testing methods for unmanned aircraft. Epperson is the co-author, with NASA Senior Research Engineer Ricardo Arteaga, of multiple AIAA industry research papers on autonomous systems and a 2020 AIAA paper with Oklahoma State University researchers on use of detect-and-avoid systems in beyond visual line-of-sight flight testing. He is an FAA certified Part 107 remote pilot and also the co-inventor of four technology patents. www.VigilantAeropsace.com |
 Dr. Cathy Cahill, Director of ACUASI |
Dr. Catherine F. Cahill is the Director of the Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration (ACUASI) in the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) and the CEO for the Pan-Pacific UAS Test Range Complex, one of the six FAA UAS Test Sites. Dr. Cahill has a B.S. in Applied Physics from the University of California, Davis, an M.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Nevada, Reno. Since 2006, Cathy has collaborated with the UAF UAS program and worked on developing unmanned aircraft-based sensors for determining the concentration, composition, and spatial distribution of atmospheric aerosols. ACUASI.alaska.edu |
 Mo Hartney, Director of Applications Engineering at Echodyne Corp |
Mo Hartney is the Director of Applications Engineering at Echodyne Corp, which produces radars to companies working in Automotive, Transportation, Critical Infrastructure Protection, Border Security, Smart Cities, Airspace Management (including UTM), and Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Hartney also serves as a public policy manager and project manager at Echodyne. She has a Masters of Public Policy at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Formerly with the Air Force, Hartney supported the A-10C while stationed in Germany and was an instructor and liaison at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. www.Echodyne.com |
About AUVSI XPONENTIAL
AUVSI XPONENTIAL is the global stage for everything unmanned — from state-of-the-art propulsion technology, sensors, energy storage and UAS mitigation solutions to what’s coming over the horizon in AI, 5G, edge computing and more. Join 8,500+ technologists, regulators and users spanning many domains and business sectors, and together, we will learn how to leverage unmanned systems to build smarter cities, expand business capabilities, capitalize on efficiencies, and ultimately, make a difference today, tomorrow and in the future. For more information, visit www.XPONENTIAL.org
Vigilant Aerospace is the leading developer of detect-and-avoid and airspace management software for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drones). The company’s product, FlightHorizon, is based on two NASA patents and uses data from multiple sources to display a real-time picture of the air traffic around a UAS and to provide automatic avoidance maneuvers to prevent collisions. The software is designed to meet industry technical standards, to provide automatic safety and to allow UAS to safely fly beyond the sight of the pilot. The software has won multiple industry awards and the company has had contracts and users at NASA, the FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense and with a variety of drone development programs. Visit our website at www.VigilantAerospace.com