High-voltage power lines present hazardous operating conditions for the helicopters especially when the pilot vision is degraded by obscurants such as dust, smoke, fog, rain, and snow. The power lines are subtle objects for the pilot in the cockpit to see, not to mention when visibility gets bad such as in the cases of operating at night and under poor weather conditions. Thus, power-line-strike accident has been a major threat for helicopter safety. The Goleta Star team will use advanced processing techniques to develop wire detection algorithms. The team brings together complimentary skills from over twenty years investigating W-band radar for wire and obstacle detection for safe flight and landing for helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. We will investigate approaches to recognizing wires, including wires from 3/8 up to bundled high power transmission lines, from angles of incidence of 0-degrees (head-on from the sensor) to 45-degrees angle of incidence from the sensor. The techniques will be developed utilizing the previously collected fully calibrated government furnished sensor data at W-band. We will then develop Phase 2 and Phase 3 plans to fully mature the algorithm(s) and transition to candidate Army assets, and possible commercial utility.
