Vigilant Aerospace tests onboard drone collision-avoidance system

Vigilant Aerospace says new flight tests of FlightHorizon PILOT showed onboard tracking, radar integration and automatic avoidance commands for drones. The work is aimed at supporting beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations as FAA Part 108 rules move forward. Why it matters: - Vigilant Aerospace is testing onboard safety tools that could help drones fly beyond visual line of sight without relying as heavily on ground-based systems. - The company’s work targets a key requirement for future FAA drone rules: automatic detect-and-avoid capability that can reduce collision risk in busier airspace. - The system is being positioned for both civilian and defense use, which broadens its potential market beyond a single aircraft class. What happened: - Vigilant Aerospace announced new flight tests and demonstrations of FlightHorizon PILOT, its onboard detect-and-avoid system for uncrewed aircraft. - The tests showed the system detecting and tracking aircraft using transponders and onboard radar. - The system calculated avoidance maneuvers on a low-cost, low-power single-board computer carried onboard the drone. - The flights also demonstrated data logging, radar tuning and filtering, plus a new ground-based viewer for remote pilots. - The latest work was conducted with Oklahoma State University’s Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education, with most flight testing at OSU’s Uncrewed Aircraft Flight Station. - The project is funded through a $1 million contract from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology’s Industry Innovation Program. The details: - FlightHorizon PILOT is based on two licensed NASA patents and was originally designed for the U.S. Air Force under an SBIR contract. - Recent testing showed the system tracking targets in flight, calculating trajectories and issuing alerts and avoidance commands from onboard computing hardware. - Two versions were tested: FlightHorizon PILOT-C for cooperative airspace and FlightHorizon PILOT-M for non-cooperative airspace. - FlightHorizon PILOT-C uses a small digital radio receiver onboard to track aircraft that carry transponders. - FlightHorizon PILOT-M adds sensors such as radar for aircraft that are not broadcasting their position. - Both versions are designed to provide detection, tracking, target correlation and standards-compliant avoidance calculations. - The flight tests used a hexacopter drone and computing and sensor equipment that meet U.S. national security supply chain requirements. - The company says the current testing is focused on proving out a civilian version of the system. - Kraettli L. Epperson, CEO of Vigilant Aerospace, said autonomous aviation will require automatic onboard safety systems and that the company is aiming to get ahead of emerging rules and standards. - Epperson also said the milestones help create a path for safe beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight for small and large UAS with fully onboard safety systems. Between the lines: - The technical split between cooperative and non-cooperative airspace shows how the system is being designed for different risk environments, not just one operating scenario. - The emphasis on onboard computing matters because it reduces dependence on external infrastructure during flight. - The mention of national-security-compliant hardware suggests the company is also aiming at defense and government customers, not only commercial operators. - The FAA’s draft Part 108 rule is shaping the product roadmap, which suggests the company is building to a regulatory window that could open broader BVLOS operations. - Earlier work under FAA and Air Force Research Lab contracts shows the current testing builds on a long development path rather than a first-time prototype. What’s next: - Vigilant Aerospace and OSU/OAIRE expect to move testing to a larger civilian fixed-wing drone. - That aircraft is expected to carry more than 60 pounds of payload and fly up to 300 miles on a gasoline engine. - The company says that class of aircraft could support firefighting, search and rescue, delivery of critical supplies and infrastructure inspection. - Future development is aimed at helping small and large drones meet expected BVLOS requirements under FAA Part 108. - The company provided media contact information for additional information: More information . The bottom line: - Vigilant Aerospace is trying to turn onboard detect-and-avoid from a test program into a practical requirement-ready system for the next phase of drone flight.