Drone tests to autonomously dodge air traffic

A collision in flight is the most serious thing that can happen to an air vehicle.

Therefore, one of the biggest problems drones have in flight is avoiding another vehicle that flies and could collide with it.

Autonomous drones are not allowed (even if they have been in testing for years), and authorized drones must be guided in such a way that the controller has a direct view of it.

With the exception of military drones, which surveillance is by remote control cameras.

And as the more drones there are flying, the greater the chance that they can collide with each other, and work has been going on for a long time to find an autonomous way that they could avoid that risk of collision.

There are several projects underway and one of the most advanced is the so-called RAAVIN in which NASA collaborates. They want to generate systems called “detect and avoid problems” that can be incorporated into the devices so that they themselves avoid collision with other devices (drones or aircraft) in flight.

According to aeronautical regulations, when two planes in flight detect the possibility that they may collide with the other, both must turn to their right so that both flight routes separate. It is a safety standard established dozens of years ago.

This is what the drones are trying to get themselves to do.

For this, a series of sensors are needed to detect movement in nearby areas (radar, cameras, acoustic sensors, etc.) and then this information is processed by a computer that provides instructions to modify the drone’s flight.

The RAAVIN team have already carried out some tests (both with drones and with airplanes) that have achieved quite successful results, but absolute safety is required in the areas of devices in flight, so you will have to continue working for a longer time.

This is good news, but drones have other safeguards to get before they become a normal working tool in our lives.