QinetiQ’s Tarsier system is one of 4 finalists in Britian’s biggest engineering prize, the Royal Academy of Engineering MacRobert Award. It shares this top slot with, Arup Group Ltd for the Beijing National Aquatics Centre, Orthomimetics Ltd for novel medical implants enabling the natural regeneration of bone and soft tissue,and Rolls-Royce plc for the Trent 900 gas turbine aero engine, as used in the A380.
The fact that an automatic FOD detection system has made it to this final is evidence that FOD detection is not a trivial task, it requires some cutting edge technology, and novel engineering to build a successful system.