Co-Chairs: Ella Atkins and Nadine Sarter

Tuesday, July 18 at 9:00 am
Register on Zoom (the defense will be on Zoom only)

Abstract:
Slow or failed detection of low salience vertical obstacles and associated wires is one of today’s leading causes of fatal helicopter accidents. The risk of collisions with such obstacles is likely to increase as Advanced Aerial Mobility and broadening drone activity promises to increase the density of air traffic at low altitudes, while growing demand for electricity and communication will expand the number of vertical structures. The current ‘see-and-avoid’ detection paradigm relies on pilots to spend much of their visual attention looking outside for obstacles. This method is inadequate in low visibility conditions, cluttered environments and given the need for pilots to engage in multiple competing visual tasks. With the expected growing number of hazards and an increased traffic volume, the current approach to collision avoidance will become even less tenable. This thesis contributes to a better understanding of the current limitations of vertical obstacle detection and avoidance. It proposes and assesses modular methods to automatically detect, catalog, and categorize hazardous obstacles that are currently neglected, and it evaluates the effectiveness of current visualization technologies and sensor- and database-informed graphic augmentations for supporting pilots in the timely and reliable detection of towers. Taken together, this research will contribute to enhanced aviation safety in the low altitude environment.