GPS Based Aircraft Collision Avoidance

Student: Adam Behrendorff

Supervisor: Vaughan Clarkson

Category: Engineering Thesis Project - Communications

The GPS Based Aircraft Collision Avoidance system is a small, lightweight and low cost device designed to prevent mid-air collisions between small aircraft. The system is capable of transmitting and receiving position and velocity information between aircraft that are equipped with identical devices. This thesis details the design and testing of a prototype system for use in general aviation.

The system relies on the satellite based global positioning system to determine aircrafts precise position in space. The system then converts its position into a digital code to be broadcast over the Industrial, Scientific and Medical Band (902MHz – 928MHz) once per second. All aircraft fitted with the same device will receive the broadcast and display the information in a user-friendly way on a Personal Digital Assistant. When a system is not transmitting it monitors the channel for received transmissions from other aircraft. The PDA will warn the pilot if there is the possibility of a collision.

Thesis Document (PDF)

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