Presented to: By: Date: Federal Aviation Administration Airport Technology R&D Team Bird Radar...

Presented to:

By:

Date:

Federal AviationAdministrationAirport Technology

R&D Team

Bird Radar Systems

2010 Airports Conference, Hershey Ryan E. King

Wednesday March 3, 2010

2Federal AviationAdministration

FAA Airport Safety R&DMarch 3, 2010



Renewed InterestRenewed InterestUS Airways 1549US Airways 1549



Bird Radar StudyBird Radar Study

• IntroductionIntroduction• Radar HistoryRadar History• FAA Performance FAA Performance

AssessmentAssessment• Bird Radar BasicsBird Radar Basics• Field Validation ExampleField Validation Example• Results and ConclusionsResults and Conclusions• QuestionsQuestions• Bonus (time permitting)Bonus (time permitting)



Take-awaysTake-aways

1. FAA is studying bird radar technology to assess its performance for application to US civil airports.

2. Civil Airports are exceptionally complex environments

3. Information systems that affect airport operations need to be accurate, reliable, precise, repeatable, consistent, and most importantly necessary.

4. Radar is not new but bird radar is (relatively)

5. Commercial radar systems have demonstrated near term effective applicability to airport environments in terms of being valuable tools for wildlife management best practices.

6. Radar may very well prove to be a valuable tool for real-time, operational wildlife strike risk reduction in the future.



IntroductionIntroduction• The FAA William J. Hughes Technical CenterThe FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center

– Atlantic City International Airport (ACY)

– ~ 3000 employees (1:1 fed:contractor)



Airport Technology R&D Team (~25 employees)Airport Technology R&D Team (~25 employees)

• Airport Pavement R&D Sub-team

• Airport Safety Technology R&D Sub-team– Wildlife Hazard Management Program

• Wildlife Habitat management and species control methods (USDA)

• Bird Detection Sensor technologies - Radar (CEAT and USDA)

• Wildlife Strike Website and DB (CEAT, USDA, and Contractor)

• Bird Feather ID and DNA Analysis (Smithsonian Institution)



FAA Bird Detection TechnologyFAA Bird Detection Technology Current - Performance Assessment (2007 – Present)Current - Performance Assessment (2007 – Present)

• Purpose: Use science-based assessment methods to assure the FAA and the public that use of commercial avian radars at airports is justified based on proven performance, does not compromise safety, and is compatible with all aspects of airport operations.

• Approach: Deploy and test avian radars in civil airport operating environment so that FAA can appropriately:

• Establish expected radar system performance• Validate target data characteristics including quality of information• Understand the impact of the local environment on system performance• Assess electromagnetic compatibility with other airport systems• Assess data management, integration and interoperability with existing systems and

practices• Work with airport personnel including wildlife control personnel to develop beneficial

use cases • Establish minimum radar system functional and performance requirements• Determine updates to regulations• Develop guidance on how to acquire, deploy, integrate, acceptance test, operate and

maintain including approval for AIP funding

• Outcome– Federal Guidance on deployment and use of radars at civil airports (e.g. Advisory Circular,

Engineering Briefs, Cert Alerts etc.)



ApproachApproach

• Technical Evaluation of Radar ComponentsTechnical Evaluation of Radar Components

– Beam CharacteristicsBeam Characteristics

– Power, FrequencyPower, Frequency

– Etc.Etc.

• Data Validation/Field StudiesData Validation/Field Studies

• Technical Evaluation of Radar ComponentsTechnical Evaluation of Radar Components

– Beam CharacteristicsBeam Characteristics

– Power, FrequencyPower, Frequency

– Etc.Etc.

• Data Validation/Field StudiesData Validation/Field Studies

• DeploymentDeployment

• Validation (in airport environment)Validation (in airport environment)

• OperationsOperations

• DeploymentDeployment

• Validation (in airport environment)Validation (in airport environment)

• OperationsOperations

• GuidanceGuidance• GuidanceGuidance



Radar HistoryRadar History



Radar HistoryRadar History

• The name radar comes from the acronym RADAR, coined in 1940 by the U.S. Navy for public reference to their highly classified work in RAdio Detection And Ranging. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_radar



Radar History cont'dRadar History cont'd

• Electromagnetic radiationElectromagnetic radiation (often abbreviated E-M radiation or EMR) is a phenomenon that takes the form of self-propagating waves in a vacuum or in matter. It consists of electric and magnetic field components which oscillate in phase perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of energy propagation. Electromagnetic radiation is classified into several types according to the frequency of its wave; these types include (in order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength): radio waves, microwaves, terahertz radiation, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. A small and somewhat variable window of frequencies is sensed by the eyes of various organisms; this is what is called the visible spectrum, or light.

• EM radiation carries energy and momentum that may be imparted to EM radiation carries energy and momentum that may be imparted to matter with which it interactsmatter with which it interacts.



Radar History cont'dRadar History cont'd

• “Serious developmental work on radar began in the 1930s, but the basic idea of radar had its origins in the classical experiments on electromagnetic radiationelectromagnetic radiation conducted by German physicist Heinrich Hertz during the late 1880s. Hertz set out to verify experimentally the earlier theoretical work of Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell…Maxwell’s work led to the conclusion that radio waves can be reflected from metallic objects and refracted…” http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/488278/radar/28735/History-of-radar

• On the 30th April 1904, Christian Huelsmeyer in Duesseldorf, Germany, applied for a patent for his 'telemobiloscope' which was a transmitter-receiver system for detecting distant metallic objects by means of

electrical waves. http://www.radarworld.org/huelsmeyer.html



Radar HistoryRadar HistoryThe bottom line…The bottom line…

Anyway you slice it, Radar technology is not new!Anyway you slice it, Radar technology is not new!

Guglielmo Marconi

James Clerk Maxwell (1831–1879)

Christian Huelsmeyer

Heinrich Rudolf Hertz



Bird RadarBird Radar



Bird Radar HistoryBird Radar History

Over the past 40 years, avian radar systems have been the subject of research, development, and use by researchers and consultants (biologists and ornithologists). In the late 1990s, commercially-available avian radar systems were introduced to the marketplace by some of these players. In the less than ten years since then, development has accelerated, as radar companies have entered the market in direct response to the growing awareness of the bird strike problem and the need for affordable avian radar solutions.

© 2007 Accipiter Radar Technologies Inc., a Sicom company

Source: Excerpt from:An Overview of Avian Radar Developments – Past, Present and FutureTim J. Nohara, Bird Strike 2007 Conference, September 10-13, 2007, Kingston, Ontario, Canada, pg.1



Avian Radar Avian Radar Examples of Commercial SystemsExamples of Commercial Systems



Benefits of radarBenefits of radar

• Radar extends observational capabilities and expands the range and spatial coverage both in distance and altitude beyond, say what a person with a set of binoculars could observe.

• Radar also offers the ability to observe during times of darkness.

• Radar can observe 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (without sleep)



Background of FAA involvementBackground of FAA involvement

Past 15 years (1994-present) have seen private companies build progressively improved avian detection radar systems to meet the requests of early users (primarily military) and anticipated needs

• 1999-2001 - MIT Lincoln Laboratories - feasibility - Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) and NEXRAD to detect biological targets.

• 2001-2002 - FAA/University of Illinois (CEAT) and USAF/Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) Initiate R&D under USAF Dual Use Science and Technology (DUST) Program - develop a dedicated airport bird radar (Waveband Corp. “Birdar”)

• 2002-2004 - R&D and Testing of 94 GHz “Birdar” at DFW, JFK, and Fermi Lab in Batavia IL

• 2005 - 2006 - FAA leverages DOD progress as avian radar systems become commercially available

• 2007 - FAA/CEAT/UIUC deploys first bird radar system to SEA-TAC

• 2008 - Performance assessment continues at SEA while deployments of additional project radars are coordinated for JFK and ORD

• 2009 - Additional project radar units are deployed to JFK and ORD for performance assessment activities

• 2010 – Draft Performance Specification expected in June; Performance assessment to continue with deployment at DFW, as well as studies at other locations and other sensor technologies.



Performance AssessmentPerformance Assessment



22

Aspects of FAA Radar AssessmentAspects of FAA Radar Assessment

• Technical Evaluation of Radar system components - antennas, processors, display, etc.

• Deployment – identification of all the considerations for physically locating the radar on the airport

• Validation – assessment of target detection capabilities

• Operations – integration into actual operational environment



23

Project Deployments of Avian RadarsProject Deployments of Avian RadarsWhidbey Island Naval Air StationWhidbey Island Naval Air Station

Chicago O’Hare Int’l AirportChicago O’Hare Int’l Airport

Seattle-Tacoma Seattle-Tacoma Int’l AirportInt’l Airport

JFK Int’l JFK Int’l AirportAirport

Center of Excellence Center of Excellence for Airport Technology for Airport Technology



JFK Bird Radar TourJFK Bird Radar Tour



BasicsBasics

• Transmitter

• Receiver

• Display

The basic operation of radar is straight forward - a radio signal is generated and transmitted and an echo from a target is captured and processed by the radar system, providing information about range to the target.



ComponentsComponents

• The major components of any avian radar system are a radar unit, an antenna, a digital radar processor and a visual display.

Antenna Processor

Display



Radar BasicsRadar BasicsAntennasAntennas

Antenna Characteristics• Antenna Gain

• Antenna Pattern (main beam, sidelobes, backlobes)

• Beam Width

• Aperture

• Major and Minor Lobes – (Front-to-back Ratio)

• Polarization – (Linear and Circular, right-handed or

left-handed)

Source: “Radartutorial“ (www.radartutorial.eu)



Radar BasicsRadar BasicsAntenna TypesAntenna Types

Half-wave Antenna

Parabolic Antenna

Fan-Beam Antenna

Offset Antenna

Antennae with Cosecant Squared Pattern

Inverse Cosecant Squared Pattern

Stacked Beam Cosecant Squared Antenna




Radar BasicsRadar BasicsAntenna TypesAntenna Types

Phased Array Antenna

Linear Array

Planar Array

Frequency Scanning Array

Monopulse Antennae




ClutterClutterEnergy from a radar signal that produces an area of obscurity on the radar display.

Likened to background noise that can make it difficult to understand a person on a phone conversation

Seen in yellow

Bird targets can be “lost” in areas of clutter.

Is a fundamental aspect of all radar antennae



39

Sensor Issues and limitationsSensor Issues and limitations

• Decibel drop, side lobes, and multipath interference are characteristics of the technology

• They also describe phenomena that create limitations because they fundamentally affect radar performance.



40

ExampleExample Large targets are sometimes detected well outside a radar antenna's expected beam geometry.

13

Movement Path

RadarExpected Beam



41

ExampleExample Large targets are sometimes detected well outside a radar antenna's expected beam geometry.

13

Movement Path

The result is an inexact location of a target in relation to aircraft producing a false positive in a hazard warning.

This introduces confusion about screen interpretation leading to delays in critical decisions or disregard for actual hazards.

RadarExpected Beam

Actual Beam



42

Response Time IssuesResponse Time Issues• Current systems rely on rotating beam and computer

computations

• Lags between detection and display

• This means that by the time a target appears on a display, the target may no longer be in the location identified by the display

• This has major implications for sense-and-alert applications



Array Antenna CoverageArray Antenna Coverage

Provides ground-up coverage but no altitudinal discrimination of targets



Array Antenna Coverage DetailArray Antenna Coverage DetailAltitude Discrimination - ExampleAltitude Discrimination - Example

> 600 ft

1.15 miles

Bird Target at 6000 ft altitude

Bird Target at 50ft altitude

6 miles

Bird Target at 6500 ft altitude not detected

A bird target detected at 6 miles will be between 0 ft and 6158 ft altitude

A bird target detected at 3 miles will be between 0 ft and 3079 ft altitude

3000 ft

Bird Target at 3000 ft altitude

3 miles



45

Weather IssuesWeather Issues

• Radar performance is related to wavelength of transmission and moisture in the atmosphere, so weather can affect radar performance.

• Rain can temporarily reduce a radar system's operational capabilities.

• Waves produce sea clutter that can be mistaken for bird movement.

• Waves also produce a variable clutter environment that challenge the processor and may result in poor detection of small birds.



Field Validation StudyField Validation Study



Bird Radar Assessments Bird Radar Assessments Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI)Naval Air Station Whidbey Island (NASWI)

• Independent Assessment conducted by Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois– Long Term

– Radar Physics and Tracking Capabilities

• Integration and Validation of Avian Radar (IVAR)– Short Term

– http://www.estcp.org/Technology/SI-0723-FS.cfm



1.6 km = “near”



Visual PanoramaVisual Panorama

• 30x power spotting scope

• Distance to horizon ~6.4km

• Data collected every 20° (between 80° and 200°)

• 20 second observation at each heading

• 502.0 meters from radar unit

• Due west from radar (bearing 270°)

N NE E SE S SW W NW



Progress, Status and ResultsProgress, Status and Results



Results and findings to dateResults and findings to datePerformance Assessment of Avian Radar SystemsPerformance Assessment of Avian Radar Systems

• Deployed avian radars at three major US airports– Seattle Tacoma (SEA)– Chicago O’Hare (ORD)– John F. Kennedy (JFK)– Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) – in process

• More than two years of data collection completed at SEA demonstrate the utility of avian detection radar systems for enhancing wildlife management practices on airports




• Deployment activities have exposed several key considerations that must be accounted for when deploying into a civil airport environment

• Efforts at SEA are transitioning from deployment and validation to an assessment of operational performance where the radar is used to provide information to wildlife management programs and airport operations



• Published Final Report “Deployment of Avian Radars at Civil Airports”

• Completed Draft Report “Concept of Operations for Avian Radar Systems at Civil Airports”

DRAFT

Available at:Available at:http://www.airporttech.tc.faa.gov/safety/downloads/http://www.airporttech.tc.faa.gov/safety/downloads/




The use of bird radar systems is advancing

• Long Term Strategic Applications – using radar data to support decisions on habitat management practices, based on bird movement trends – This is being handled pretty well

• Short Term Observations and Monitoring - using radar to observe and monitor bird behavior over periodic timeframes e.g. days, weeks, months, seasonal – Progress being made

• Real-time – using radar data to support tactical mitigation of present bird hazards i.e. to engage targets with active deterrents, and to provide ATC with notification of bird activity in the area – This is where the real work needs to be done



Results and findings to dateResults and findings to dateUnique characteristics of birdsUnique characteristics of birds

• Birds are mobile, uncooperative targets– Their movement dynamics are determined by individual

behavior and under no control of the NAS

• Exhibit wide range of sizes and behaviors

• Movement patters– Migratory – seasonal movements over long distances

– Commuting – daily movements in local to regional scales, from loafing to feeding sites

– Resident – remain local to site for roosting and nesting



Results and findings to dateResults and findings to dateApplication of technology to address behavioral differencesApplication of technology to address behavioral differences

The three movement classes on the previous slide are based on behavioral differences in bird species and require corresponding technological capabilities of radars– Detection range

– Altitude coverage and discrimination

– Speed of target acquisition

– Track Processing

Unfortunately the needed capability is not available in a single radar system at this time



Results and findings to dateResults and findings to dateRadar Coverage RequirementsRadar Coverage Requirements

• Regional – to detect migrating birds (Weather Radars and Terminal Doppler Weather Radars (TDWR))

• Local – to cover out to approximately 20 miles from an airport (NEXRAD, TDWR, Airport Surveillance Radars (ASR))

• Airport – to cover the airport environment where more than 90% of bird strikes occur



Regarding WHMPRegarding WHMPWildlife Hazard Management PlansWildlife Hazard Management Plans

• Avian radar technology can be a useful component in meeting the goals in an airport’s WHMP and can be an important tool in the Safety Risk Management (SRM) process.

• It can provide information on the distribution and relative abundance of birds as well as provide an assessment of the effectiveness of habitat management techniques and programs.



Regarding ATC Regarding ATC FAA Order JO 7110.65S Air Traffic Control, Section 2-1-22 FAA Order JO 7110.65S Air Traffic Control, Section 2-1-22 Bird Activity Bird Activity

InformationInformation

• Tasks ATC to issue advisory information on “pilot reported, tower-observed, or radar-observed and pilot –verified” bird activities



Regarding Pilot ProceduresRegarding Pilot Procedures FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Section 7-4-6FAA Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Section 7-4-6

• Instructs pilots to focus on general awareness of possible wildlife hazards and protocols for dealing with wildlife encounters that threaten the aircraft

• Directs pilots to reduce bird strike risks through– Avoidance

– Review of emergency procedures

Brief and ProactiveBrief and ProactiveBrief and ProactiveBrief and Proactive



ConclusionsConclusions

• Fully realizing the utility of avian radar systems requires that airport operators and others:– Understand the strengths and limitations of the technology

– Appropriately deploy to address site specific conditions and goals

– Appropriately operate the systems

– Systematically expand avian radar applications as the technology advances




• Avian radar applications run the gamut from straightforward to highly complex and involve widely varying levels of personnel, time and expense

• Currently, there is insufficient experience to generalize the operational processes at specific civil airports into a set of generic operational processes applicable to all civil airports.




• FAA will continue assessment of avian radar systems for use at airports to enhance wildlife management practices and improve airport safety

• FAA endeavors to produce guidance documentation for airport stakeholder use regarding avian radar detection technologies

• Any new technology must be carefully assessed and systematically proven before it is strategically integrated for use in the NAS



END



Wildlife.faa.govWildlife.faa.gov



http://wildlife.faa.govhttp://wildlife.faa.gov Website Key ElementsWebsite Key Elements

• Wildlife strike hazard information• News stories• Links to reports, guidance, and policy documents• Photograph gallery• Frequently asked questions

• Full access to the FAA's Wildlife Strike Database• Fully down-loadable database in Microsoft Access format• Easy search interface • Export results to MS Excel

• Online Strike Reporting• Submit a strike report online• Edit a previously reported strike



ImprovementsImprovements

• Redesigned website interface– Better look and feel– Improved user friendliness for evolving end user community

• i.e. Researcher to general public

• More efficient user interaction– Reduced number of clicks and pages presented to the user to get to

the information they desire– Organization of information is logical and consistent on each page

• Improved and enhanced database queries• Platform agnostic programming language

– Accessible from mobile devices with standard browsers

… … and a new shorter web address.and a new shorter web address.



New SiteNew Sitewildlife.faa.gov wildlife.faa.gov

• Relatively attractive• Prominent

placement of key features

• A simple DB search now requires one click

• Consistent navigation throughout the site with left menu

• Standard FAA format• 508 Compliant



New SiteNew SiteSearch the DBSearch the DB

• 3 simple instructions• 3 easy ways to

begin a search• Results subset

appears on same page

• User configurable results display

• Easy sorting and filtering of results

• One click export of results to MS Excel for detailed analysis



Mobile DevicesMobile DevicesThe ChallengeThe Challenge

Making this…

…fit, AND work on these



Mobile DevicesMobile DevicesThe SolutionThe Solution



Avian Detection Radar BasicsAvian Detection Radar Basics

• Avian radars are based on small mobile marine type antennas often used on boats.

• Essentially, avian radar is simply a sensor that can detect targets of interest and provide data about those targets.

• Processing that data is where the real complexity comes into play, especially with biological targets.

• An radar system consists of the radar antenna, a power supply, a PPI or Plan Position Indicator (i.e. the black and green display that you may think of with a sweeping line rotating and picking up “blips”), a digital data processor, and a digital visual display that displays processed data for interpretation and analysis.

• Radar extends observational capabilities and expands the range and spatial coverage both in distance and altitude beyond, say what a person with a set of binoculars could observe. Radar also offers the ability to observe during times of darkness.

• There are two types of radar antennas: 1) slotted array antennas which project beams 1° to 2° wide and 20° - 25° high as they rotate; 2) parabolic dish antennas which project conical shape beams usually in the range of 2° to 4°.

• The radars used in the current FAA studies operate in two bandwidths, S-Band S-Band (2-4 GHz with 8 - 15 cm wavelength(2-4 GHz with 8 - 15 cm wavelength) and X-BandX-Band (8-12 GHz (8-12 GHz with 2.5 - 4 cm wavelength).with 2.5 - 4 cm wavelength).

• A general detection capability for a slotted array antenna set up in a typical configuration, spinning in a horizontal orientation, would produce an area of detection of approximately 150m wide and 900m high at a range of 5 km (3.1miles). Any detected target within that area would be displayed but would not have any useful altitude information associated with it.

• The array antennas can be configured in a vertical spinning arrangement to include altitude information about targets, but will necessarily have a much reduced area of detection than the horizontal setup.

• Array antennas produce larger detection areas, but are more limited on range.

• Dish antennas produce better range capabilities but the detection areas at those ranges are smaller than the array

• The general distance capabilities of these radars are out to about 5 miles maximum.

Presented to: By: Date: Federal Aviation Administration Airport Technology R&D Team Bird Radar...

Documents

Transcript of Presented to: By: Date: Federal Aviation Administration Airport Technology R&D Team Bird Radar...