Reliable Robotics Receives Contract to Advance Detect and Avoid Technology

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Reliable Robotics secured a contract with the FAA to conduct data collection flights of its Detect and Avoid (DAA) system, showcasing its advanced Air-to-Air Radar (ATAR) technology in airport environments.
The DAA system, designed to prevent in-air collisions for uncrewed aircraft, will undergo test flights to assess alerting and maneuvering guidance. Data will inform the development of new safety standards with FAA committees SC-228 and SC-147.
Collaborating with the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, Reliable Robotics will begin test flights in 2025, continuing its progress in autonomous UAS systems following previous successful uncrewed Cessna test flights.

PRESS RELEASE — Reliable Robotics, a leader in autonomous aircraft systems, today announced a contract with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to execute data collection flights of its Detect and Avoid (DAA) system in and around airport environments. Reliable is developing an industry-leading DAA system, including an advanced Air-to-Air Radar (ATAR). Reliable was selected for this contract based on the Technical Readiness Level of its system.

This contract will demonstrate Reliable’s comprehensive DAA solution for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) in controlled and uncontrolled airspace in compliance with FAA-accepted standards. In 2017, the FAA published Technical Standard Orders (TSO) detailing how DAA systems, including ATAR, can be certified. The Reliable DAA system on board a UAS is designed to maintain a safe distance from other aircraft by performing both Remain Well Clear (RWC) and Collision Avoidance (CA) against cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft. During test flights, as part of the contract, Reliable will evaluate the system’s ability to provide alerts and maneuvering guidance for remote pilots during in-air conflicts. The data collected will be shared with RTCA Special Committee 228 (SC-228) and Special Committee 147 (SC-147) to inform the validation of the next set of standards for advanced DAA systems.

“Compliance to consensus-based technical standards is critical to reducing certification risk and ensuring interoperability,” said Juerg Frefel, Co-founder and CTO at Reliable Robotics.

Reliable will collaborate with one of the FAA’s UAS Test Sites, the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP). MAAP has a track record of success with test planning efforts and the provision of data to the FAA to inform UAS integration. Flight tests will begin in 2025.

In 2023, Reliable demonstrated UAS operations of a Cessna C208B Caravan without a pilot on board, and earlier that year flew that same aircraft as part of the FAA Urban Air Mobility Airspace Management Demonstration project.

About Reliable Robotics

Reliable Robotics launched in 2017 to bring safe, certified automation systems to commercial and defense aviation. The company’s system enables remote operation of any aircraft type. Reliable’s vision is to transform the way we move goods and people around the planet with safer, more convenient and more affordable air transportation. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and has a distributed global workforce. Learn more and see job openings at https://reliable.co.

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