There is a need for technologies focused on increasing the efficiency and safety of UAV operations for the first and last 50 feet, and under diverse weather conditions. UAV's are not typically equipped for icing avoidance and many have been lost close to airports when encountering icing hazards or un-forecasted weather conditions. Current aircraft weather radars that operate at X-band (8-12 GHz) have limited or no ability to help pilots detect and quantify icing potential due to atmospheric attenuation. Use of 3D LIDAR technology for ice and snow avoidance could significantly expand the mission envelope of aircraft and UAV's during cold weather operations. IDI is proposing development of a multi-channel 3D LIDAR that will identify low altitude cloud layers - as well as provide runway surface hazard information for UAV's. Unique wavelengths are chosen to identify both cloud moisture content and runway surface contaminates (ice, water, snow, slush) within the local surroundings of the aircraft. During the Phase I IDI will demonstrate a 3D scanning LIDAR in the icing chamber with multiple wavelengths and multiple channels. The LIDAR design will be optimized and packaged to meet the desired range and accuracy requirements during the Phase 2 program.
