Collision avoidance in civil aviation is becoming increasingly important due to the rising number of drone flights in the private and commercial sector. AIRlabs Austria GmbH with Managing Director Christoph Brunner organised a prestigious panel of experts to present the very different requirements of the various stakeholders from manned and unmanned aviation and to discuss technological requirements for future systems and the associated legal framework. 

The term Sense & Avoid (S&A) refers, among other things, to the ability of an aircraft or drone to recognise other aircraft or obstacles and avoid them to prevent collisions. 

Overall, S&A is therefore a crucial aspect for the safe integration of drones into airspace. In its EU drone strategy 2.0, the European Union has set itself the goal of adapting regulations relating to the European rules of the air (SERA) and the regulations for air traffic management and air navigation services (ATM/ANS) regarding the safe integration of drones, thereby reducing the risk of collisions between manned and unmanned aviation. There are also plans to continue actively supporting research and development into drones and their integration by providing funding. 

AIRlabs Austria organised a high-calibre panel of experts on this topic to present the very different requirements of the various stakeholders from manned and unmanned aviation and to discuss technological requirements for future systems and the associated legal framework. Several specialist presentations as well as state-of-the-art and user reports were shown, followed by a joint discussion of selected aspects. 

One of the most important key messages from the expert discussion is that the expectations and requirements for S&A systems vary greatly depending on the stakeholder and are sometimes even contradictory. 

The following points, among others, were discussed and identified as needing to be taken into account in further processing: 

• What degree of autonomy is envisioned? 
• Will sensors be required specifically for individual operations? 
• What is the situation regarding legal certainty, particularly in relation to the use of artificial intelligence for evasive manoeuvres?
• What dangers need to be considered specifically regarding helicopters? It is almost impossible to plan where emergency helicopters will be deployed, while NOTAMS only provide limited information as to whether a drone is currently active or not. 
• What options do jet pilots have and to what extent are they able to perform see & avoid due to the high speed and dimensions of their aircraft and the drones? 
• With several thousand UAVs, it will not be possible for air traffic controllers to coordinate the volume of traffic manually. 
• “Sense” is often the focus, however an approved solution including “Avoid” is needed. 
• Who will bear the costs for the introduction of U-Space areas? 
• What is the demand for S&A systems and what is the minimum number of units needed to make the costs of potential new developments worthwhile? 
• Sensor fusion appears interesting for future systems; what options are available? 
• Requirements must be defined in detail to drive forward the targeted development of a new system.
• In general, significant growth rates are expected in the emerging urban and advanced air mobility aviation segments in the coming years; Functioning S&A systems to avoid collisions are important for the positive development of these new markets. 

At this point we would like to thank the participants very much: 

Peter Fleischhacker (ÖAMTC Flugrettung), Sven Göring (BMK), Wolfgang Granig (Infineon), Dr. Holger Friehmelt (FH JOANNEUM), Tom Bruchmann (AIRlabs Austria), Thomas Kettinger (BMLV), Gerhard Peller (BLADESCAPE Airborne Services GmbH), Dominic Z’graggen (Austrian Cockpit Association & Austrian Airlines), Dominik Janisch (Austro Control), Thomas Vahrner (BMI / COBRA), Lukas Grabner (Austro Control), Sulzbachner Christoph (AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH), Steve Wallitzky (BMI / Flugpolizei), Christian Mundigler (FACC AG), Ernst Cerny (BMF / Fernmeldebehörde) and especially Ms. Valerie Hacklund and Austro Control in Vienna as host of the event

Building on the expert discussion, AIRlabs plans to submit a corresponding exploratory project “Sense & Avoid” to create a holistic overview, carry out needs and requirements analyzes for S&A systems and use this to create a roadmap for the development of technical S&A systems. This roadmap should then be made available to stakeholders and form the basis for a common understanding on which follow-up projects can be built. 

We look forward to continuing to work closely with the various stakeholders on this exciting and important topic! 🤝