Architecting UAV sense & avoid systems

For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to operate in civil airspace alongside manned aviation, they must prove that they can operate to an Equivalent Level of Safety (ELOS) to that of manned aviation. Commercial use of UAVs is currently limited by their inability to detect, sense and avoid airborne hazards. This paper discusses the meaning of ELOS, and the system requirements that it creates. It also discusses Thales UK Ltd (Aerospace division) progress on Sense & Avoid (S&A) system and subsystem design to meet these requirements as part of the Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment (ASTRAEA) commercial UAV programme.