Description: OKSI and Professor Frank Dellaert of Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) are teaming up to develop an ultra-low cost passive low-SWaP spherical situation awareness sense/avoid system based upon monocular stereo vision (i.e., stereo-from-motion) for small UAS platforms operating within the NAS. When flying close to the ground (e.g., during takeoff and landing) obstacles such as cars, trees, buildings, power lines, people, and so on are not equipped with beacons. In this setting, the ability to actively detect obstacles within the environment in real-time and to take evasive maneuvers to avoid collisions is a required capability for safe operation in the NAS. Currently, there are no existing technologies that sufficiently address the sense/avoid problem associated with operation of small UAS platforms (<55lbs) operating within the NAS. To this end, OKSI is developing the Stereo Obstacle Avoidance Rig (SOAR) that will provide a complete solution to the sense/avoid problem for small UAS platforms. The SOAR system utilizes a video stream from a distributed aperture array of cell phone cameras combined with state-of-the-art single-camera stereo vision algorithms in order to construct accurate 3D environmental maps in real-time.

Benefits: UAS in the NAS (ARMD): SOAR promotes the objectives of NASA SBIR Topic A2.01 Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration into the National Airspace by enabling sense/avoid for navigation within uncertain and hazardous environments, as well as promoting autonomous flight capabilities for UAS platforms. Autonomous landing and hazard avoidance (HEOMD and STMD): Safe landing is critical for spacecraft exploration, as was recently demonstrated by the European Space Agency's recent mission difficulties with the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander, which had difficulty locating a stable surface for landing. SOAR can be utilized for safe landing site selection in unknown environments (e.g., for Project Morpheus). Multiple-Use Sensor Technologies/Instruments (SMD): SMD's goals include developing high-quality, multi-purpose, low-cost, low-SWaP sensing capabilities to make spacecraft missions more affordable). SOAR uses COTS hardware with software-based sensing, meaning the SOAR system can be used for sense/avoid, navigation, automated landing, topographical mapping, reconnaissance and more.

There are no existing COTS sensor technologies that address the FAA's sense/avoid concerns for UAS operation within the NAS, particularly for small UAS platforms weighing 55lbs or less. The ultimate goal of the proposed effort is to develop an operational SOAR sense/avoid system that can be used for real-time obstacle avoidance for UAS operating within the NAS. This promotes the objectives of NASA SBIR Topic A2.01 Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration into the National Airspace by enabling sense/avoid for navigation within uncertain and hazardous environments, as well as promoting autonomous flight capabilities for UAS platforms (Figure 3). As UAS drones are approved for commercial operation in the NAS, there will be a growing market for this sense/avoid technology, which is sure to be required on-board every UAS operating in a commercial capacity.