Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

Reliable Robotics has teamed with NASA to improve the safety of remotely-piloted aircraft in the National Airspace System using FAA primary surveillance radar (PSR) data. Specifically, the partners wanted to explore the use of existing radar infrastructure for automated detect-and-avoid (DAA) systems on board autonomous aircraft.&nbsp;
Reliable Robotics is a California company developing “drop-in” autonomy kits to give legacy aircraft remote-piloting capabilities. Together with NASA, Reliable Robotics conducted a flight-test campaign in California using two of its experimental aircraft. During the flight tests, Reliable Robotics&nbsp;coordinated multiple encounters between the two aircraft while the FAA’s ground-based radars and commercial air-to-air radars tracked the flights and collected data.&nbsp;
NASA is using that flight data to analyze and characterize the accuracy of the FAA’s radars, and the results of the study&nbsp;will help the agency develop a safety case for DAA systems using PSR data. Reliable Robotics says&nbsp;making high-quality PSR data available to pilots could significantly improve situational awareness and help to prevent mid-air collisions.
“We appreciate the close collaboration with the FAA and Reliable Robotics to collect meaningful data from flights to improve our collective understanding of using radar for DAA,” said Brad Snelling, partner chief engineer for the AAM National Campaign at NASA. “These landmark flights will help the entire AAM industry further their understanding and future use of PSR data to enhance aviation safety.”
This article originally was originally published on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aerospace/2023-04-27/nasa-reliable-robotics-partner-uas-safety" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">AINonline.com</a>, a&nbsp;FutureFlight sister site.

Hanneke Weitering

Reliable Robotics is working to certify its remote-piloting capabilities in a modified Cessna 208 Caravan. (Photo: Reliable Robotics)

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