Case Study: Thales

ASTRAEA is a pioneering £32 million aerospace programme which is addressing key technological and regulatory issues in order to open up non-segregated airspace to unmanned autonomous aircraft.

ASTRAEA is joint UK industrial and government initiative involving a consortium of major UK aerospace companies, DBERR and regional development agencies working with many innovative small companies and leading academics.

The safe and routine operation of autonomous airborne systems promises to offer considerable public benefits, particularly in the areas of safety and security, 'blue light' and rescue services, logistics, environmental monitoring and transport management.

The Aerospace Division of Thales is one of the major partners in the ASTRAEA programme and is leading the UAV collision avoidance project. Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group addressing defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide. Thales’ leading-edge technology is supported by 22,000 R&D engineers who offer a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy field-proven mission-critical information systems. The company provides world-class expertise in UAV Systems and technology as well as onboard electronics for civil and military aircraft, helping to define tomorrow's air transport solutions: cleaner, quieter and more efficient aircraft designed to fly safely and securely in ever-more crowded skies.

The Smith Institute worked closely with the ASTRAEA project team at Thales to develop algorithms for collision avoidance. A review of the published literature on collision avoidance systems was augmented by discussions with several leading academics. The limitations of existing approaches to collision avoidance in this application were highlighted and a novel approach was identified based on models developed initially for use in the finance industry. The new algorithms for collision avoidance were implemented by Thales and are performing as required.

Prof Simon Watts, Deputy Scientific Director of Thales’ Aerospace Division noted that the algorithms have proven to be exceptionally robust during testing in the Thales Systems Integration Laboratory, where they have been exercised against a number of avoidance scenarios along with new detection, fusion and processing components. These are key steps towards the team’s programme plan to migrate this capability onto trials platforms for real world avoidance testing using cooperating intruder types, as part of planned participation in a number of related activities.

The ASTRAEA activity continues to move towards its goal in conjunction with the Regulatory Authorities, who provide valuable support and consultation in taking these technology capabilities forward.

To find out how mathematical approaches can help you add value to your processes please contact Dr Heather Tewkesbury.

About Thales

Thales employs 68,000 people in 50 countries with 2007 revenues in excess of £8.3bn.

Thales UK employs 9,000 staff based at more than 50 locations. In 2007 Thales UK's revenues were over £1bn.

Image supplied courtesy of ASTRAEA.