52 unmanned systems
inside
January/February 2016
AIR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
by Dee Ann Divis
W
ork is underway to determine spe-
cifically what is needed to allow
small drones to f ly limited long-
distance flights and how different technologies
might meet those needs. The research, which
was requested by the Federal Aviation Admin-
istration (FAA), is proceeding at a fast clip with
the first results due at the end of September.
The effort has been divided into two stud-
ies and is being managed by ASSURE (the
Alliance for System Safety of UAS through
Research Excellence), which was chosen last
The Federal Aviation Administration has tasked its new Center of Excellence with
determining what is needed to enable small, unmanned aircraft to do limited long range
fights. The research teams, who plan to fight test sense and avoid equipment, are seeking
information from unmanned aircraft operators to help them frame their tests in real-world
terms and partners who want to have their equipment considered for evaluation.
TO GO THE DISTANCE
ENABLING
SMALL DRONES
Invitation to Industry
The ASSURE research teams are looking for fight data with
which to characterize applications, build a testing framework
and ultimately develop future standards. They are also seeking
new approaches and technology for sense and avoid including
industry partners interested in having their technology tested.
A Request For Information (RFI) is expected to be posted
on the Fed Biz Ops webpage (fbo.gov) announcing a spring
and fall meeting.
Those who are interested, however, can send an email
inquiry to:
spring to be the FA A's new Center of Excel-
lence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).
Two ASSURE teams—one from New Mexico
State University (NMSU) and one from the
University of Nor th Dakota (U ND)—are
working together on beyond line-of-sight
and related detect and avoid technologies. In
a closely related project ASSURE research-
ers from North Carolina State University
(NCSU) and Ohio State University (OSU) are
looking at what can be done with technology
available now for manned aircraft to support
Gen. James Poss (ret.)
Executive Director, ASSURE
Email: jposs@assure.msstate.edu
Lux Luxion
Associate Director, ASSURE
Email: sluxion@assure.msstate.edu
Beyond Line-ofSight / Detect and Avoid team
Email: suas_bvlos_input@psl.nmsu.edu
Surveillance Criticality team
Ken Snyder, North Carolina State University
Email: ktsnyder@ncsu.edu
We would
like input from as
many places as
possible."
–Henry Cathey, co-lead
researcher beyond-line-of-
sight study, New Mexico State
University
"