MITRE Corp. said it developed a Universal Access Transceiver (UAT) Beacon radio for small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) designed to facilitate the safe introduction of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace system.
The transceiver, which uses a waveform compatible with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), increases safety, making the UAS more “visible” through the electronic broadcast of its position and velocity, MITRE said. The device contains a power source, positioning sensor and UAT transmitter in a self-contained package about the size of two decks of cards.
If ADS-B is widely adopted by the UAS and general aviation communities, it could help to ensure safe separation of aircraft and UAS and to mitigate “detect, sense and avoid” challenges, the company said.
“MITRE is investing in this technology for its potential to enhance the safety of allowing small UAS to operate in the national airspace system,” said Agam Sinha, senior vice president and general manager of MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development. “A small, portable ADS-B device also addresses the significant challenge of making such avionics affordable to all airspace users.”