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35 W hile current air traffic control (ATC) proposals are to create corridors for operating UAVs safely, the challenge with allowing operations on a wider scale requires a sense and avoid capability. Part of this challenge is the wide range of UAV platforms, from small quadcopters to larger, 60 kg systems and multi-tonne platforms. UAVs larger than 60 kg have to carry a transponder, which these days fit into the existing ATC procedures by identifying the UAV, but this approach requires the air traffic controller to inform a remote pilot to take evasive action if needed. Allowing ATC to take control of an autonomous UAV to take evasive action is a much bigger step that would require significant integration with systems on board a UAV, but this option is being explored. So there is a significant effort to provide a localised sense and avoid capability in a UAV so that it can detect other aircraft and take evasive action if necessary. Developers are also looking at how these technology implementations can be extended for longer range detection of other aircraft as well as for detecting obstacles, particularly power lines. There is a range of technologies and approaches being adopted for this task, bearing in mind the challenge of size, weight and power (SWaP) for such a system. Radar systems at 10 kg with 1 kW power have been regarded as too large and power-hungry to operate on smaller UAV platforms, but advances in technology are making this a more viable proposition. Consequently there is a focus on using cameras to look around the sky to sense other aircraft. There are different approaches to using vision sensors, Sense and avoid systems | Focus Unmanned Systems Technology | Dec 2015/Jan 2016 The Ikhana Predator B UAV is being used for sense and avoid trials linking onboard sensors to air traffic control and then notifying remote operators (Courtesy of NASA)