New 360-Degree Drone Detect-and-Avoid Solution Launched

Iris Automation has announced the availability of its new onboard multi-camera detect and avoid (DAA) solution for commercial unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Casia X is an evolution of the company’s Casia product line and uses advanced computer vision technology to provide full 360° radial detection.

Casia X provides an increased probability of detection performance by 7%, and a 12x reduction in false detections, based on nearly 16,000 total real-world manned aircraft encounter flight tests. The system features a new architecture that will support camera configurations from one to six units, providing flexibility for drones with different carrying capacities and field of view requirements. Improved software reliability provides higher overall system uptime, and new capabilities include visual aircraft encounter replay tooling and log files to help analyze detections and air risk.

AviSight, a developer of unmanned industrial inspection and advanced data solutions, has partnered with Iris as a Casia X beta user. The company intends to integrate Casia X into its field testing of long linear inspection operations.

Casia is also being tested as part of several global civil aviation authority programs, including the Federal Aviation Administration’s BEYOND program which aims to advance complex BVLOS (beyond visual line of sight) UAS operations in the US National Airspace System. As part of the BEYOND Program, Iris has so far partnered with four lead participants – the City of Reno, Kansas Dept of Transportation, University of Alaska Fairbanks (ACUASI) and the Choctaw Nation. Iris had previously partnered with each of these lead participants in the FAA’s UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP).

Jason Hardy-Smith, vice president of product at Iris Automation, commented: “The response to Casia X has been phenomenal, and we are thrilled to deliver the product into our customers’ hands. We’ve gained significant feedback and experience since we first announced our 360 degree capability, which has been instrumental in shaping its capabilities for this major global market.”

William O’Donnell, director of operations at AviSight, said: “Our customers understand that unmanned missions can dramatically enhance efficiencies, reduce costs and improve the overall safety of their infrastructure maintenance and environmental monitoring programs. Technologies like Casia provide us with additional layers of safety, helping us advance toward beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, in close collaboration with federal regulators invested in safe airspace integration. We are excited to be working with the Iris Automation team.”

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