Reliable Robotics has hired Marc Pos to lead design and certification of a detect and avoid (DAA) radar system.
The system will make up a “key part” of Reliable’s aircraft-agnostic airspace integration solution plans. In his role as senior fellow, Pos will focus on certifying DAA systems capable of detecting and tracking all airspace users, whether they are equipped with a transponder or not. Radar is the only all-weather, non-cooperative sensor for DAA and no existing airborne radar currently enables commercial aircraft considering size, weight, power and cost drivers hence why Reliable has to build its own.
Brandon Suarez, vice president of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Integration at Reliable Robotics, said: “We’ve been strategically focused on certifying our safety-enhancing aircraft automation system, and simultaneously building an Airspace Integration Solution that allows remotely piloted aircraft to be safely integrated into our airspace. With Marc’s expertise, we will advance our DAA capabilities using novel radars, which is core to the solution.”
Integrating UAS into the national airspace requires a set of interdependent subsystems: DAA systems, C2 links and the control station. These collectively form part of an end-to-end, certifiable solution for new and existing aircraft to be remotely piloted, according to Reliable.
Pos has close to 30 years of experience designing radios, radars and radar altimeters. During his 21-year tenure at Honeywell, he most recently served as a radar system fellow. He has led cross-disciplinary teams that developed phased array radar systems for airborne DAA, ground-based obstacle avoidance and navigation, as well as all-weather radars and radar altimeters used for autolanding in transport category aircraft such as the Airbus A320.
Pos has also led a published NASA study on the usability of radar in the NAS, a project aimed at enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. Pos holds 14 patents for radar and radar altimeter innovations. He has also served on multiple RTCA committees related to radar sensing in DAA systems and currently participates in SC-228.
“Developing a reliable DAA solution that can be certified for operations in the NAS will be a win for the industry,” said Pos. “I’m looking forward to growing the radar division, and expanding the capabilities of Reliable’s airspace integration solution.“
Radars provide the range to an object, speed of that object and if it is coming or going all in one detection. The FAA has published TSO-c212, which recognises radar as a viable solution for air traffic detection and tracking, specifically invoking RTCA DO-366 as a valid performance standard.
Adding radar to Reliable’s sensor suite will provide a “robust and certifiable” DAA solution, the firm believes.
