Like manned aircraft, UAVs need the capability to timely detect and avoid other traffic. In case of a fully autonomous detect, sense and avoid system, every falsely identified threat will cause an unnecessary avoidance maneuver. Furthermore, information that is not explicitly available to the avoidance function cannot be taken into account when computing a maneuver. Given a situation where the time to conflict provides sufficient margin, involving the human operator in the detect, sense and avoid cycle can mitigate these issues. With the appropriate level of system authority, it is possible to combine collision avoidance function availability and continuity (e.g. in case of a control link failure) with the benefits that can be obtained from operator involvement. This paper discusses the integration of conflict probing data into a cockpit display of traffic information and into an enhanced/synthetic vision primary flight display. The resulting user interface concept is intended to support the operator in the assessment of the traffic situation, providing an adequate understanding of the impact of maneuvering on the future separation with traffic. Following this, the design of an experiment to explore the impact of the conflict probes on conflict assessment and maneuvering is presented. Results from an initial evaluation show an improvement in the assessment of the traffic situation, resulting in more effective and efficient conflict resolution maneuvers, and less unwarranted maneuvers.

The full integration of Remotely Piloted unmanned vehicles into civil airspace requires first and foremost the integration of a traffic Detect and Avoid (DAA) system into the vehicle. The DAA system supports remote pilots in performing their task of remaining Well Clear from other aircraft and avoiding collisions. Several studies related to the design of a Remain Well Clear function have been performed that served as input for the development of technical standards applicable to non-European countries. In this paper, a Remain Well Clear implementation is proposed that, using the results of past international projects, fits European airspace needs and specificities and can be acceptable to both remote pilots and air traffic controllers, with only minimal impact on the standard operating procedures used for manned aircraft. The proposed Remain Well Clear software has been successfully validated through real-time simulations with pilots and controllers in the loop considering traffic encounters and mission scenarios typically found in European airspace. The achieved results highlight the appropriate situational awareness provided by the proposed RWC function and its effective support to the remote pilot in making adequate decisions in conflict solving. Real-time simulation tests showed that, in almost all cases, an RWC maneuver is successfully performed, giving the RP sufficient time to assess the conflict, coordinate with the controller, if needed, and execute the maneuver. The fundamental role of the proposed RWC function has been especially evident in uncontrolled airspace classes where the controller does not provide any separation provision. Moreover, its effectiveness has also been tested in encounters with aircraft flying under visual flight rules in controlled airspace, where the controller is not informed or has less information regarding these aircraft. The results from validation tests imply two key potential safety benefits, namely: the mitigation of performing a collision avoidance maneuver and the prevention of potential conflict while not disrupting the traffic flow with possible further consequences of generating other potentially hazardous situations.

Mission effectiveness requires a bandwidth of the observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop that is large enough to cope with the dynamics of the particular target environment. If not already, the current `human' interface between the navigation, sensor and weapons functions is likely to become the bottleneck that limits the bandwidth of the OODA loop. Some scenarios foresee a future where this bottleneck is eliminated by removing the human operator from the OODA loop using UAVs that autonomously adjust their goals and plans based on the sensed state of the environment. The OODA loop comprises several nested loops, each with increasing bandwidth. Rather than removing the human operator from the OODA loop altogether, the concept explored in this paper aims to move the human operator to a lower bandwidth loop. The operator is supported by a system that dynamically performs a translation of target-payload parameters to a navigation/guidance plan with a level of execution authority that is determined by the dynamics of the environment. As such it represents an evolutionary approach from current systems that are automated up to the plan execution level and systems that autonomously adjust their goals. In this paper, the concept is explained and the options and rationale for the selection of the appropriate level of automation are discussed. Also, an overview of the current development activities is presented.

• Synthetic vision systems incorporate ideas that were first explored almost 60 years ago but never made it into a product until recently • Many other promising data presentation concepts have been waiting for the required technology • The transition from electromechanical instruments to electronic displays presented a significant technological leap and opportunity, but. — To minimize other risks, a conservative approach regarding changes to data presentation was used. — This established a baseline of formats that since that time have undergone only minor changes • A lack of operational credit may delay concepts that are superior in terms of pilot-vehicle interface !

For Unmanned Aircraft Systems to meet the intent of the Federal Aviation Regulations, a technical solution is being developed to enable a Sense and Avoid capability. To contribute to a reduction in the overall Near Mid Air Collision encounter probability, the intended function of conflict probe displays is to provide the pilots with increased awareness of potential future conflicts, resulting in timely preventive maneuvers. A probe contour is generated by computing the locations where a conflict starts and where it ends for a range of ownship tracks. The resulting shape is determined by the specification of the conflict space. At present, various candidate quantitative definitions for “well clear” have been proposed. In previous research it was demonstrated how a probe using the modified-tau algorithm can be used to depict a conceptual well-clear boundary. However, the use of a constant temporal threshold in all probing directions can result in a contour that seems to be connected to ownship even in conflict-free situations. Mitigation of this undesired effect is performed via tau-weakening, a refinement to the existing probing function. Furthermore, how the specification of a Horizontal Miss Distance as part of the well clear definition impacts the depiction of the conflict space is discussed in this paper. Also, the potential impact of wind for the situation in which constant airspeed is maintained during a maneuver rather than constant ground-speed is discussed. The paper concludes with a set of recommendations for conflict geometries that aim to allow the potential benefits of the depiction of the conflict space to be measured and enable the impact of different definitions of well clear to be analyzed.