The Tarsier FOD detection system has not made it on to this site in over 12 months, so it’s nice to see the system I helped develop get a little attention, but even I’m a little surprised to see that it’s the Olympics that have caused it to pop up in the press. Yes, it appears as though FOD detection systems keep sports fans safe (in addition to “normal” passengers one hopes).
If anyone from Heathrow is reading this, don’t forget that the Tarsier Toolbox can export all the FOD data that’s being collected by the radar, and I’m more than happy to help make it available to the public at FOD-detection.com, it would make for a great article.
Here’s the FOD section of the article:
This equipment relies on clear runways so the signal that guides aircraft isn’t affected, which is where the QinetiQ foreign object debris (FOD) radar system comes in.
The new £2.5 million piece of kit alerts airside operations to any rogue or suspicious item on the runway by scanning the asphalt and comparing a stored image with the result, triggering an alarm if they don’t match.
A high-density infrared camera is then used to zoom in on the suspect area for confirmation.‘FOD radar covers stuff that shouldn’t be there that could be ingested into an aircraft engine with serious consequences,’ Newbold says.
He refers to the Air France Concorde that crashed in Paris after striking a strip of metal.
The system alerts staff to potential risks an average 30 times a day but Newbold adds: ‘Radar is an exact science, so it could just be picking up a bird scratching its backside before flying off again. I’ve had some knickers, pliers, a pair of reading glasses and a fuel cap. I’m yet to find a wing.’