DARPA reports success in system designed to help avoid mid-air aircraft collisions

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced this week that its Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) research effort recently conducted its first successful flight tests.

The new system is a shoebox-sized, plug-and-play system designed to enable manned and unmanned aircraft to automatically detect nearby aircraft and avoid potential mid-air collisions. Unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) repeatedly used the system to detect and track in real time a Cessna 172G aircraft approaching from various vertical and horizontal distances during testing.

“This successful flight test is a step toward adding external perception to ALIAS’ toolkit for advancing in-flight automation,” Dan Patt, program manager at the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA, said. “What pilot wouldn’t want to set a box on their dashboard that would provide an additional pair of eyes to alert of potential collisions? This SAA system has the potential to enable a wide range of manned and unmanned systems to safely integrate into an increasingly populated and complex airspace.”

DARPA has spent the past two years developing the capabilities demonstrated by ALIAS. The agency will plan another phase of testing that includes joint funding from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).