Ainstein Radar To Fly On NASA's BVLOS UAS Demonstration

Ainstein will provide the collision-avoidance sensor for NASA’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) Technical Capability Level (TCL) 4 operation led by the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems (NIAS). The NASA UTM TCL 4 program has partnered with leading unmanned aerial systems (UAS) providers to enable flying in higher-density urban areas for tasks such as newsgathering, package delivery, and large-scale contingency mitigation.

Over several months in downtown Reno, Nevada, NASA will demonstrate UAS flight in a metropolitan area under beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) conditions. Ainstein’s credit-card-size uSharp patch collision avoidance radar is compact enough to be mounted onto small UAVs. The technology features ultra-low power consumption, provides sensing and algorithms, and can detect objects in all weather and light conditions, including dust, heavy rain and fog, and night flying, the company said.

“The potential for autonomous drone applications will never be realized without using the best collision avoidance sensors,” said Chris Walach, executive director of NIAS and the FAA-designated Nevada UAS test site. “Ainstein brings a deep scientific mathematical and engineering expertise, as well as some of the top innovations in radar technology for collision avoidance.”