In a series of tests conducted recently in Phoenix, a drone piloted by a Honeywell radar system has emerged triumphant in determining the best flight path and autonomously swerving around an intruder drone that did not have a transponder. This key achievement, the aerospace technology company stresses, will usher in the era of self-flying drones, air taxis, and other advanced air mobility vehicles.
Avoiding unforeseen objects is a key requirement for autonomous drones and other aircraft that fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). While this detect-and-avoid capability is difficult on the ground, in the sky it comes even more complex. This is why pilots, and even huge air traffic control radars, rely on cooperative aircraft to beam out their locations using onboard transponders. Objects without transponders, such as hobby drones, kites, birds, and aircraft with broken transponders are called “noncooperating” traffic.
In the high-stakes tests conducted by…
