Conflict Detection and Resolution System Architecture for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Civil Airspace

Abstract

A novel architecture for a general Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Conflict Detection and Resolution (CD&R) system, in the context of their integration into the civilian airspace, is proposed in this paper. The architecture consists of layers of safety approaches ,each representing a combination of different methods for surveillance, coordination, action and decision. These are collected from a survey of various CD&R methods existing in both manned and unmanned domains. The combination process shows that some approaches aresuitable, while others are not, for the context of UAV integration. The suitable approachesare then arranged using the 'defense in depth' concept, where each layer filters a specific type of intruder. The final arrangement is set as the proposed architecture, and implemented in an assumed UAV operation within the civil airspace. System and infrastructure considerations are discussed for several examples of prospective types of operation in the airspace.