An Optical Perception System for Sense and Avoid Navy SBIR FY2015.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2015.1 Topic No.: N151-026 Topic Title: An Optical Perception System for Sense and Avoid Proposal No.: N151-026-0541 Firm: UtopiaCompression, Corporation 11150 W. Olympic Blvd. Suite 820 Los Angeles, California 90064 Contact: Vijay Venkataraman Phone: (310) 473-1500 Abstract: Currently, the lack of a proven Sense and Avoid (SAA) technology is the largest technological obstacle in the way of wide scale Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) deployment in the National Airspace Systems (NAS). Group 2-3 UAS, due to their small size, slow cruise speeds and climb rates; exacerbate the probability of their involvement in a Mid Air Collision (MAC). Therefore, there exists a need for a SAA solution that will enable small UAS to avoid MAC while satisfying their Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) constraints. In past work, UtopiaCompression Corporation (UC) has demonstrated the components of a passive sensor based SAA solution using both simulated and flight test data. The objective of this effort is to prove the concept of an optical SAA system and the feasibility of meeting the SWaP limitations of small UAS. Benefits: UtopiaCompression's (UC) passive sensor based sense and avoid (SAA) solution can enable the national airspace integration of small UAS by providing an effective solution to mitigate the risk of MAC. The proposed SAA solution that satisfies SWaP constraints of small UAS can provide detection, alert and avoidance of non-cooperative air traffic. For cooperative traffic, the proposed passive system can augment on-board sensing systems by providing traffic data at higher resolutions (both frame rates and bearing angle resolution) and be used as a backup system in case of failures of other sensing systems. The UC team will maximize the likelihood of successful transition by working closely with Government stakeholders throughout the program process. Beyond military applications, the UC team believes that critical traction is being gained through the efforts of this program in a primary market with broad economic potential - the UAS market. This is an important enabling technology because despite a large degree of interest in UAS for a multitude of governmental and commercial purposes, adoption has been slow due to a number of technological and regulatory barriers. One of the most important remaining regulatory and technological barrier to broader adoption of UAS, both in government and commercial venues, is the certification of a system of technology, feedback, analysis and control which can reduce the risk of air to air collision down to that of a manned flight. The technologies developed by UC for this program constitute a critical step towards removing this barrier. UC team is determined to demonstrate success with the Navy as the initial customers and expand to other service branches and agencies. During the Phase II development and beyond, the UC team will work closely with the Navy and SAA prime contractors, such as Northrop Grumman Corporation, to transition the technology. Return