The Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV) has submitted its plan to install a foreign object debris detection system (Xsight Systems’ FODetect) at Noi Bai and Tan Son Nhat International Airports in order to banish birds from airport runways.herb seeds

According to the article, the cost would be recovered by charging airlines between $17 and $35 per flight, although the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAA) have some concerns over the finance plan.

Questions on the project’s rate of return were also raised, as the CAA said that at the proposed per flight charge, the investor would recoup its money in six and a half years, a time it deemed too short. If you are planing to buy a new a car, is imrportant that you check The 12 Worst Types Deals On New Transit Custom Accounts You Follow on Twitter.

The CAA have also requested further information regarding the ability of the FODetect system to operate in unfavourable weather.

The aviation watchdog also demanded that the ACV elaborate on the FODetect system’s capacity to operate in unfavorable weather conditions and at different hours of the day, its area of operation, and its general feasibility whether integrated or expanded in the future.

Source (tuoitrenews)

Varec Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, will serve as the prime contractor and Xsight Systems, Inc. will be the original equipment manufacturer provider of the FODetect ^® Solution. Varec, together with Xsight Systems, will provide installation design assistance, software and implementation services for installation, configuration, interface development, reporting and training.

Source ( Xsight)

Logan Airport has documented more than 100 pieces of debris since January, said Ed Freni, director of aviation for Massport Authority.

“One is too much,” he said. “With this system, we’re able to get real-time information and respond immediately as opposed to doing a traditional runway test.”

FODetect was officially turned on in September. Freni said so far, the airport is pleased with the technology.

Regarding the cost, the article states:

The technology cost the airport about $1.7 million, according to Xsight. That’s cheaper than the usual $5 million-per-runway cost because the runway was shorter in length than most and because Logan is first to use the technology. The Federal Aviation Administration paid for half of the cost.

Source (The Boston Business Journal)

SnowWize, based on Xsight Systems’ FODetect (an automated foreign object detection solution),  offers a solution that will greatly improve safety during winter operations, replacing the existing manual methods of measuring snow with a measuring stick and  a snow board.

Source (Xsight Press Release)

Here’s a quote from the article:

“The system had detected an enormous number of FODs, and this is a real revolution” – this statement was made yesterday by Udi Bar-Oz, deputy director general, operations of the Israeli Airports Authority.

Source (Flightglobal Blog – Aerial View)

* In the interest of full disclosure I should highlight the fact that I work for Flightglobal. But, I have no involvement with the Flightglobal Blogs, and, FOD-detection.com IS NOT a Flightglobal blog.

I have to be honest here, it’s not entirely clear to me if RunWize is the same thing as FODetect, or if FODetect is the name of the hardware, and RunWize is the name of the system, and BirdWize is an addon to the system! If anyone can clarify I’d really appreciate it. Anyway….on with the news.

According to the website, RunWize (or FODetect, or maybe FODSpot) can now also detect birds. It’s not entirely clear from the product description what the technical change is, I can only assume that the detection algorithms have been updated to better detect moving objects e.g birds.

From the product page:

BirdWize uses advanced image processing and computer vision algorithms to detect birds on the runway without any manual intervention. The algorithms also provide indication regarding the bird’s estimated dimensions.

View the product page here.

Mr Yair Gannot, Director of Aviation Safety, Israel Airports Authority, commented: “During the system operation and over the past nine months an average of six items per month were collected from the runway.  More so, we had no case of FOD found by our manual inspectors that was not earlier detected and visualized by the automated FOD detection system.

Source(AirportsInternational.com)

One such system, Xsight Systems’ FODetect, utilises Surface Detection Unit (SDU) sensors located across the airport’s surface for high resolution and swift detection.

Each SDU combines a millimetre-wave radar sensor and an optic sensor with Near Infra-Red (NIR) illumination for improved night performance, and when integrated with an airport’s elevated runway or taxiway edge lighting infrastructure, converts them into smart edge lights which can be used to detect hazardous objects, birds and other wildlife.

The technology allows an entire runway to be scanned between each ground movement and – if required – live video, GPS co-ordinates and a laser pointer can assist airport staff in identifying the location of any FOD or wildlife, allowing for their swift and efficient removal.

All detection data and images and video recordings are archived and tagged, allowing for a comprehensive statistics reporting system, which documents all events.

QinetiQ’s Tarsier uses a fairly powerful scanning radar, generally requiring two separate radars set back from the runway and overlapping to cover an 11,000-foot runway, as well as a slewable, military-grade camera for close target inspection. Recently, the UK company announced the integration of Tarsier with a runway and taxiway acoustic sensing system to warn of potential runway incursions.

The iFerret system from Singapore-based Stratech Systems typically uses eight non-radar “intelligent vision” electro-optic sensors alongside, but set back from, the runway. The sensors capture images in full HD quality, with a 70X zoom capability that allows swift visual assessment of FOD. The system’s software-controlled optics also compensate for changing ambient light levels to maintain daylight-like images in darkness.

The mobile FOD Finder, the system employed at Yuma, incorporates into one pallet a radar, radome, electronics, wireless data transfer and 360-degree zoom cameras, and is operable while moving in a half-ton truck. Surface-mounted FOD Finders can be rapidly linked to create a temporary or permanent fixed array along a runway. When the system is mobile, a powerful vacuum system can recover FOD while moving. The device is offered by San Diego-based Trex Industries.

The FOD detection system from Tel Aviv-based Xsight uses existing runway-edge light fixtures as mounting bases. A weatherproof above-ground unit holds scanning radar and zoom camera. Watertight electronic units, power and communication equipment contained in an underground chest support the mounting base. Runway cameras are individually slewed via consoles in the control tower. The system is deployed on dual runways at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International.

Source (AIN Online)