ASCI 637, Assignment 9.4, The Future of the UAS

I believe that the biggest advancement in UAS technology in the near future will be in sense-and-avoid systems.  The primary motivation for the effort to develop these systems will be to refine them to the satisfaction of the FAA.  When the FAA's confidence has been gained, a broader range of operations will commence in the National Airspace System (NAS).  As safe UAS operations become more commonplace, the public's trust in the technology will allow the field to truly flourish.

Insinna (2014) writes that military UAS operators have thus far been able to operate relatively freely due to the lack of air traffic in restricted airspace above war zones.  The FAA has been working to establish sense-and-avoid regulations that future domestic, commercial UAS operators will be required to comply with.  Sense-and-avoid algorithms based on ADS-B are being researched by NASA.  A test system has been mounted to a Cirrus SR-22 test platform.  Researchers have been deliberately attempting to input "blunder maneuvers" to test the algorithms (Vanderhoof & Flight, 2016).

A critical component in the future of UAS operations in the NAS is the FAA’s timeline and the contents of the regulations the agency will adopt for sense-and-avoid systems.  The longer the FAA delays the process, the more opportunities will be lost.  Investors providing capital, commercial ventures, and people seeking entry into this market will not be able to wait indefinitely for an uncertain publishing date.  These regulations will essentially decide whether a venture will progress or halt and disband.  The regulations will also essentially determine if sense-and-avoid system developed to date will be sufficient to meet these thresholds.  If not, there will be more delays incurred as the technology is refined to meet the standards.

References:

Insinna, V.  (2014, May).  Military, Industry Racing to Create Sense-and-Avoid Systems.  National Defense.  Retrieved from http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/archive/2014/may/pages/military,industryracingtocreatesense-and-avoidsystems.aspx

Vanderhoof, D. & Flight, M.  (2016, June 3).  Sens and Avoid and Package Delivery at NASA Langley.  The UAV Digest.  Retrieved from http://theuavdigest.com/tag/sense-and-avoid/