MITRE Develops Portable ADS-B Radio for Small Unmanned Aircraft

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

McLean, Virginia, May 8, 2007 — The MITRE Corporation has developed a Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Beacon radio for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that is designed to facilitate the safe introduction of these aircraft into the national airspace system.

Despite the growing demand for and advantages offered by the portability, low cost, and sophistication of small UAS, their use in the national airspace system remains limited because they are difficult for pilots to see and for electronic sensors to detect and track, creating safety risks. One way to make small UAS more "visible" is through the electronic broadcast of data about their position and velocity.

The UAT Beacon radio transmits messages using a waveform compatible with the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast (ADS-B) system being adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration. MITRE's small, lightweight, ADS-B-based system has a power source, positioning sensor, and UAT transmitter in a self-contained package approximately the size of two decks of cards. If ADS-B is widely adopted by the UAS and general aviation communities, it could help to ensure safe separation of aircraft and UAS and to mitigate "detect, sense, and avoid" challenges.

"MITRE is investing in this technology for its potential to enhance the safety of allowing small UAS to operate in the national airspace system," said Agam Sinha, the senior vice president and general manager of MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD). "A small, portable ADS-B device also addresses the significant challenge of making such avionics affordable to all airspace users."

The system and operating concept are described in a paper titled "A Lightweight, Low-Cost ADS-B System for UAS Applications," which was presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Infotech@Aerospace 2007 Conference and Exhibit in Rohnert Park, California, on May 7th.

MITRE is continuing to enhance the UAT Beacon radio's capabilities and to explore applying the technology to civil and military operating concepts, including facilitating safe UAS access to the national airspace system. MITRE invites industry participation in researching this and other related questions and is particularly interested in collaborating with UAS manufacturers and operators. Interested organizations should contact MITRE.

MITRE's CAASD has extensive experience with ADS-B. It developed the original UAT in 1996 and worked with the FAA to establish an ADS-B system in the U.S. As the FAA's federally funded research and development center, CAASD played a key role in the early deployments of ADS-B through its involvement in the Alaska Capstone and Safe Flight 21 programs, which brought safety benefits to hundreds of small aircraft operators equipped with UAT avionics.

MITRE (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit company that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Internal Revenue Service, with principal locations in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va.

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