Enhancing Drone Safety: Sagetech Avionics and elsights Groundbreaking Collaboration

Sagetech Avionics has successfully integrated its ACAS X-based Detect and Avoid (DAA) system with the Elsight Halo drone connectivity platform.This partnership aims to facilitate type certification and airworthiness for aircraft operating under Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) concept Operations (CONOPS).

Streamlined Solutions Through Collaboration

According to Sagetech, the collaboration with Elsight focuses on customer needs, resulting in a quicker, more dependable, and certifiable solution. This synergy is designed to enhance the safety and efficiency of drone operations.

Critical Dialog Links for safety

The Airborne Detect and Avoid system from Sagetech necessitates a robust Command Non-Payload Communication (CNPC) link. This link is essential for transmitting ACAS X alerts and guidance to remote pilots, and also relaying the pilot’s avoidance maneuvers back to the aircraft. The effectiveness of these systems hinges on the reliability of this communication link, which is vital for ensuring safer skies.

Elsight Halo: A Pioneering connectivity Solution

The Elsight Halo platform addresses the need for secure connectivity and is already in use by many of Sagetech’s clients. The Halo is recognized as the first AI-driven connectivity solution for uncrewed vehicles,ensuring continuous uptime and reliable communication between drones and ground control stations. This integration with Sagetech’s ACAS X-based DAA system provides customers with a low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) solution that is easy to implement.

Expert Insights on the Integration

Wes Shover, Director of Sales & Channel at Sagetech Avionics, emphasized the significance of this integration: “A secure command and control link between the aircraft and ground control station is crucial for the safety and reliability of remotely piloted aircraft. Our joint customers can now be confident that the collision avoidance maneuvers dictated by ACAS X will be communicated to the pilot over a secure network, with the Halo serving as either the primary or secondary communication link. Sagetech is dedicated to providing industry-leading airborne safety solutions, and our ACAS X integration with the Elsight Halo exemplifies this commitment.”

Testing and Validation for Future Missions

The integration of DAA and ACAS with the Halo involved multiple flight tests to collect data and validate the technology necessary for future BVLOS missions. The data collected was shared with the FAA’s TCAS Program Office to validate the models that underpin the ACAS X collision avoidance algorithms.These triumphant tests were completed earlier in 2023 on an aircraft pursuing type certification.

Looking Ahead: future Developments

Roee Kashi, CTO of Elsight, remarked: “The ACAS X detect and avoid system, in conjunction with our Halo, represents a natural extension of our technologies, leveraging the unique strengths of each system while enhancing the overall safety of BVLOS operations. Collaborating with Sagetech allows us to provide top-tier connectivity solutions for secure drone operations.”

Sagetech plans to further develop the ACAS X-based DAA system by incorporating additional sensor options to detect non-cooperative intruders and integrating with more widely used autopilots for executing autonomous collision avoidance maneuvers.

Innovation at the Core of Safety

The DAA computer from Sagetech is central to its innovation strategy, enabling Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide to achieve optimal safety and visibility for BVLOS flights.