Back in March of this year the FAA published their report on the Tarsier FOD detection system, within the next few days the FAA are due to publish their report on FOD Finder, the mobile system from Trex Enterprises. Trex have been kind enough to send me a copy in advance of the availability on the FAA website.
It’s worth noting that FOD Finder is the only mobile system on the market, and is therefore the only system available which can cover taxiways and aprons, as well as the runway. Theoretically the fixed systems could cover the same areas, but strict building rules and cost make this very impractical.
Here’s the abstract:
In 2008, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Airport Technology Research and Development Team initiated research to conduct a performance assessment of the Trex Enterprises FOD Finder™, a mobile, radar-based foreign object debris (FOD) detection system. This assessment included the system’s capability to detect objects of various shapes, sizes, and materials at all locations on the runway surface. The system’s capability to detect FOD during both nighttime and daytime conditions, in periods of sun, rain, mist, fog, and snow was also assessed.
The FOD Finder detection system was installed at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in March 2009 and initially tested in July 2009. The assessment of the FOD Finder detection system at ORD was supplemented by the evaluation of two additional FOD Finder detection systems at Honolulu International Airport and the McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, California. The performance assessment at all three airports began in May 2010 and concluded in September 2010. Researchers conducted several test sessions at each airport to assess the FOD Finder’s capability to detect selected FOD items that were of various shapes, sizes, color, and material in both nighttime and daytime conditions, in periods of sun, rain, mist, fog and snow.
The FOD Finder detection system was able to detect the objects of various shapes, sizes, and materials on runway surfaces, taxiways, and aprons, and was able to perform satisfactorily in nighttime, daytime, sun, rain, mist, fog, and snow.
Download: Performance Assessment of a Mobile, Radar-Based Foreign Object Debris Detection System