The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences (UND Aerospace) has entered a one-year partnership with Vigilant Aerospace Systems to use the company’s drone safety software and airspace management system FlightHorizon. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed late last year to formalise the agreement.
On January 6, UND Aerospace said that as part of the agreement Vigilant Aerospace will provide training for UND Aerospace students and faculty, with full integration of FlightHorizon into the programme’s operations and research expected by summer. “The initiative aligns with UND Aerospace’s commitment to advancing UAS traffic management (UTM) and C-UAS measures, areas increasingly relevant in light of recent drone sightings near critical infrastructure in New Jersey.”
FlightHorizon uses NASA-patented technology to provide detect-and-avoid (DAA) alerts during BVLOS operations. By integrating multiple sensors, machine learning and data sources, the software is designed to enable operators to proactively identify nearby aircraft and avoid potential collisions through visual and auditory alerts.
Paul Snyder, director of UND’s UAS programme said the technology can easily integrate with the hardware in use and will create a common operating picture that enables UND to fuse hardware and data from radars made by DeTect and other sensors into one screen.
The MOU also includes a joint effort to submit FlightHorizon to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Near-Term Approval Process for UTM services and pursue funding opportunities for C-UAS and UTM technologies.
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Image: UND Aerospace
