https://aviationweek.com/themes/custom/particle/dist/app-drupal/assets/awn-logo.svg
Skip to main content
  • Market Sector
    • Aerospace
    • Air Transport
    • MRO
    • Defense and Space
    • Business Aviation
  • Markets
    • Aerospace
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Connected Aerospace
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Manufacturing & Supply Chain
      • Advanced Air Mobility
      • Commercial Space
      • Sustainability
    • Air Transport
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports & Routes
      • Airlines & Lessors
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
      • Sustainability
    • MRO
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Emerging Technologies
      • Supply Chain
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Workforce & Training
      • Sustainability
    • Defense and Space
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Sensors & Electronic Warfare
      • Missile Defense & Weapons
      • Supply Chain
      • Budget, Policy & Operations
      • Space
      • Sustainability
    • Business Aviation
      • Aircraft & Propulsion
      • Interiors & Connectivity
      • Airports, FBOs & Suppliers
      • Flight Deck
      • Safety, Ops & Regulation
      • Maintenance & Training
      • Sustainability
  • Marketplace
  • Services
    • Services
      • Advertising
      • Marketing Services
      • Fleet, Data & APIs
      • Research & Consulting
      • Network and Route Planning
      • Marketplace
  • Store
    • Market Sector

      • Aerospace
      • Air Transport
      • MRO
      • Defense and Space
      • Business Aviation
    • Type View All Products
      • Intelligence Bundles
        • AWIN - Premium
        • AWIN - Aerospace and Defense
        • AWIN - Business Aviation
        • AWIN - Commercial Aviation
      • Market Briefings
        • Advanced Air Mobility Report - NEW!
        • Aerospace Daily & Defense Report
        • Aviation Daily
        • SpeedNews
        • The Weekly of Business Aviation
      • Directories
        • Air Charter Guide
        • Aviation Week Marketplace
        • Route Exchange
        • The Engine Yearbook
      • Data Services
        • AC-U-KWIK
        • Aircraft Bluebook
        • Airportdata.com
        • Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM)
        • CAPA – Centre for Aviation
        • Fleet Discovery Civil
        • Fleet Discovery Military
        • Fleet & MRO Forecast
        • MRO Prospector
      • Publications
        • Air Transport World
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology
        • Aviation Week & Space Technology - Inside MRO
        • Business & Commercial Aviation
        • CAPA - Airline Leader
        • Routes magazine
        • ShowNews
      • Resources
        • Downloadable Reports
  • Events
    • Recent webinars
    • Events View All Events
      • MRO
        • MRO Americas
        • MRO Asia
        • MRO Australasia
        • MRO Baltics & Eastern Europe Region
        • MRO Europe
        • MRO Latin America
        • MRO Middle East
        • Military Aviation Logistics and Maintenance Symposium (MALMS)
        • Asia Aerospace Leadership Forum & MRO Asia-Pacific Awards
      • Commercial Aviation/A&D
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions
        • A&D Programs
        • A&D Manufacturing
        • A&D Raw Materials
        • A&D SupplyChain
        • A&D SupplyChain Europe
        • Advanced Air Mobility
        • Aero-Engines Americas
        • Aero-Engines Europe
        • Aero-Engines Asia-Pacific
        • Aerospace IT
        • Engine Leasing Trading & Finance Europe
        • Engine Leasing, Trading & Finance Americas
      • Air Transport
        • CAPA Live
        • Routes Americas
        • Routes Europe
        • Routes World
        • ATW Airline Awards
        • CAPA Airline Leader Summit
        • CAPA Americas Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Latin America Aviation & LCCs Summit
        • CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit
        • CTC Asia Corporate Travel Summit & Sustainability Expo
        • CAPA World Aviation Outlook Summit
        • GAD Americas
        • GAD World
      • Aerospace and Defense
        • A&D Mergers and Acquisitions Conference (ADMA)
        • A&D Manufacturing Conference
        • Aerospace Raw Materials & Manufacturers Supply Chain Conference (RMC)
        • A&D Programs
      • Awards
        • Aviation Week 20 Twenties
        • Aviation Week Laureate Awards
        • Program Excellence Awards and Banquet
        • CAPA Asia Aviation Summit & Awards for Excellence
  • About
    • About Aviation Week Network
      • Our Story
      • Content and Data Team
      • Aviation Week & Space Technology 100-Year
    • Contact Us
      • Subscriber Services
      • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
      • Content Sales
      • Events
      • PR & Communications
      • Content Licensing and Reprints
      • FAQ
  • Log In
  • Register
  • My Account
    • Profile
    • Sign Out
  • AWIN Access
  • My cart
    Back to
  1. Business Aviation
  2. Safety, Ops & Regulations

Share

Equipping Drones To Avoid Aircraft

David Hughes August 11, 2021
Casia in flight

Computer Vision

Credit: Iris Automation

Iris Automation’s Casia computer vision system uses off-the-shelf cameras that enable drones to detect and avoid aircraft by spotting and classifying them from 0.75 mi. away (on average) up to 1.2 mi. In this 2019 flight test, Casia commanded a 22 lb. Applied Aeronautics Albatross drone (upper left) to spiral down to avoid a general aviation aircraft.

Casia 1 in flight

Detect And Avoid

Credit: Iris Automation

San Francisco-based Iris Automation tested this multirotor Endurance drone in 2019 using a 1- lb. Casia 1 system with a single forward-facing camera providing an 80 deg. field of view. The Casia 1 detect and avoid (DAA) system is being used by customers now in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flying under FAA waivers. The FAA is working to make BVLOS flying more routine in the future. About 20 customers are flying Casia 1 systems on 50 drones for industrial purposes, the company reports.

Casia in flight

Close Encounters

Credit: Iris Automation

An Albatross drone detects an aircraft (upper left) as captured by a Go Pro camera mounted on the tail of the drone. Iris Automation, which also has a base in Reno, Nevada, has conducted 16,000 such encounters over the Nevada desert, not all of which included avoidance maneuvers by the drone. There are no head-on encounters for safety reasons, as small target profiles and the fast closure rates dictate these are only studied in a simulator. The meta data from the Casia system (upper left) is superimposed on this image including aircraft identity, range and speed.

Albatross Casia close

Field Of View

Credit: Iris Automation

A single forward-facing camera with an 80-deg. field of view is mounted on this Applied Aeronautics Albatross drone, which uses the 1-lb. Iris Automation Casia 1 system to detect and avoid aircraft. A heavier 4-lb. Casia X system with five cameras for larger drones provides 360 deg. coverage that may be needed to meet future FAA regulations for routine BVLOS flying. The drones in the flight tests operate at 400 ft. or below.

Casia 1 system on a drone

Identifying Intruders

Credit: Iris Automation

The Casia 1 DAA system on a drone needs a horizon line (white line on mountain tops) to gauge the speed, distance and bearing of an intruder aircraft. Casia compensates for how high the sun is in the sky as it compares a sighting to its aircraft performance library to identify a general aviation aircraft, a passenger jet, a helicopter or another aircraft. Intruder aircraft performance affects when automatic avoidance maneuvers are commanded.

Piper XCub

Company XCub

Credit: Iris Automation

Iris Automation rents general aviation aircraft for drone encounters and also owns and operates this CubCrafter Piper XCub, which is well-suited to take off and land on a dry lake bed in Nevada. The company has installed a Casia system on the Cub to see if it can detect other general aviation aircraft but there are no plans at the moment to develop a product for the general aviation market.
Piper XCub with Casia system

Collision Avoidance

Credit: Iris Automation

Iris Automation has tested how a general aviation aircraft like the company's XCub might be able to detect and avoid another aircraft using the Casia camera and computer vision system. A single camera is mounted on the strut to provide a forward view with 80 deg. of coverage.

Albatross drone equipped with Iris Casia detect and avoid system

Powerline Inspections

Credit: Iris Automation

Iris Automation participated in flight tests hosted by Kansas State University in 2019 and involving energy company Evergy to show how powerline inspections can be conducted. The Albatross drone was equipped with an Iris Casia DAA system, which in one instance initiated a maneuver to avoid birds.

Previous
Next

Founded in 2015 and now headed by former Boeing NeXT executive Jon Damush, Iris Automation has developed the Casia detect-and-avoid system for drones. In June, the company was named to serve on the FAA's new Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee.

Aviation Week Intelligence Network
Monitor the market and connect your business to the people, programs and proprietary data driving the Business Aviation market - only available with AWIN.

BAV_AWIN_270_thumb

Stay Connected.
Stay Informed
Grow Your Business.

Learn How

Follow us on

Markets

  • Aerospace
  • Air Transport
  • MRO
  • Defense and Space
  • Business Aviation

Products

  • AWIN Intelligence Bundles
  • Market Briefings
  • Publications
  • Data Services
  • Directories
  • Resources

Contact Us

  • Subscriber Services
  • Advertising, Marketing Services & List Rentals
  • Content Sales
  • Events
  • PR & Communications
  • Content Licensing and Reprints
  • FAQ

Other Resources

  • Aviation Week Marketplace
  • Knowledge Center
  • Newsletters
  • ShowNews
  • Advertising - Media Kits
Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. Informa Markets, a trading division of Informa PLC.
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use