uAvionix has unveiled truSky, a groundbreaking solution for detecting ADS-B ‘spoofing’ within its SkyLine Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) services designed for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.
This advancement aims to enhance the confidence of pilots and air traffic controllers by ensuring that the ADS-B signals received from an aircraft are authentic and not fabricated or manipulated.
Understanding ADS-B Spoofing and Its Validation
ADS-B spoofing involves the intentional distortion of ADS-B signals, which can misrepresent an aircraft’s location, speed, and identity.Such interference poses meaningful risks to Detect and Avoid (DAA) systems and Air Traffic Control (ATC), jeopardizing airspace safety and awareness.
While ADS-B technology is beneficial for DAA, the absence of validation can lead to misleading information. uAvionix highlights that various studies and reports have raised alarms about the dangers of relying on unverified ADS-B data in critical scenarios.
Validation of ADS-B signals entails verifying the accuracy and reliability of the data sent by an aircraft. This process may involve cross-referencing the information with othre air traffic data sources and monitoring for any discrepancies or irregularities. The primary objective of ADS-B validation is to ensure that the transmitted data is trustworthy, enabling UAS operators and ATC to make informed decisions and maintain safe distances between aircraft.
Introducing truSky
The innovative truSky validation system employs a network of affordable, low-profile dual-frequency (1090MHz and 978MHz) ADS-B ground receivers to assess each signal emitted from the aircraft. The system promptly compares the received signals to verify their origin from the aircraft’s actual location.
With sufficient sensor coverage,truSky utilizes various techniques to backtrack the aircraft’s position and juxtaposes it with the data contained in the ADS-B transmission.
By leveraging Doppler data, multilateration timing, and aircraft dynamics, the system generates a validation score for each aircraft, providing the necessary confidence and safety margin for BVLOS operations. this sophisticated process relies on a well-integrated and secure network of receivers with precise timing capabilities, such as those offered by the uAvionix SkyLine platform.
Enhancing Visual Confidence
Within the uAvionix SkyLine platform, each aircraft’s tracking point is color-coded according to its confidence score.
For instance, an aircraft departing from Denver International Airport may initially be detected by a single receiver (indicated in red), but as it moves, it is later picked up by a second (yellow) and then a third (green) receiver. When integrated with the SkyLine API, the validation score is transmitted alongside the aircraft’s position updates.
A 2017 FAA whitepaper titled ‘White Paper: FAA Position on Use of ADS-B for Alerting and Guidance’ concludes with the following insights:
“For DAA systems, the implications of this policy are as follows: DAA warning guidance may only be generated on validated ADS-B tracks. DAA guidance to regain safe separation may only be generated on validated tracks. DAA cautionary guidance might potentially be generated by unvalidated ADS-B tracks. If the DAA system is integrated with the UAS flight control system for automated maneuvers, the guidance system may only execute automatic maneuvers against validated ADS-B tracks.”
Prior to truSky, validated ADS-B signals necessitated expensive MLAT sensors, primary radar, or onboard Traffic Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) to accurately correlate aircraft positions.
Currently, truSky is being tested in various locations across the United States and is available as part of uAvionix’s SkyLine UAS BVLOS service or as an API for integration into UAS Ground control Systems (GCS), Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM), or Air Traffic Management (ATM) platforms.
