NAFPI have just made public the presentations from the 32nd conference held earlier this year.
Latest News
MCAS Yuma clears objects off flightline[video]
Here’s a great little video of Trex’s FOD Finder system in use at MCAS Yuma. It’s obvious from listening to Grant that Trex are not only serious about detecting FOD, but also committed to understanding where the FOD came from, and about retrieving the FOD. (I’m not keen on the pen input for the tablet though)
FAA report on FOD Finder
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
Photo/radar sensors detect debris on airport runways
There’s an article at Gizmag today describing a radar/camera based system, and it’s not Tarsier or FODetect. The original article can be seen at the Fraunhofer web site. One part of the article caught my attention:
While similar radar systems have been developed, these are only capable of detecting metal objects, and they often give rise to false alarms. What is more, because they are mounted high up on masts they can easily be damaged in the event of an airplane accident.
This statement is so factually incorrect that it’s a little worrying (I hope they didn’t develop their system based on these assumptions!).
- The system on the market most similar to the Fraunhofer system is Tarsier. And anyone who has used Tarsier (or can read a web site, or has a basic understanding of high-frequency radar) knows that it detects plastic, paper, grass, metal, birds, wood etc.
- If a system on a mast/tower is susceptible to damage from aircraft, then a system on the ground is susceptible to damage from aircraft, and every ground vehicle used on the airfield, not to mention the local wildlife. But, it will also lose line-of-site due to signs, ground vehicles, snow banks etc. If the system is mounted on the ground it will not have line-of-sight to the far side of the runway (due to the runway crown), so it would require twice the number of sensors when compared to a tower based system. When they do their site design they will then realise that there are places where their sensors cannot be placed due to the density of taxiways, so they will have large gaps in their coverage.
From the article it appears that they are currently 8-9 years behind the competition, and their system does not appear to offer any advantage (actually, it appears to have a few disadvantages) compared to the radar/camera based systems already available.
My suggestions:
- Perform some market research prior to developing a new system.
- Perform some basic fact checking before describing what the competition is capable of.
If my tone in this article appears a little “off” then I apologise. I like competition and innovation, what I don’t like is misleading articles/marketing material. Customers are not stupid, if you try to mislead them about the capability of a competitor they will find out for themselves, and if they don’t, I can guarantee you that I will let them know on this blog.
If you are interested in a radar/camera system that works right now, then please check out FODetect or Tarsier.
The Emerging Markets FOD and Bird Strike Prevention, Runway Safety Conference
The Emerging Markets FOD and Bird Strike Prevention, Runway Safety Conference will take place on October 26 and 27 at the Aviation Club, Dubai.
The event, organised by Green Aviation and Logistics Group along with Media Sultan Group under the patronage of Department of Civil Aviation – Dubai, UAE, will highlight the latest FOD Prevention techniques, equipment, and technological advancements used in the industry to prevent Foreign Object Debris (FOD) and Bird strike Prevention, promote awareness, and combat a common enemy.
Conference objectives are to make the industry aware of the need to prevent foreign object debris/damage from our aviation/aerospace vehicles, airports, runways, manufacturing shops, flight lines and all aspects of aerospace operations. The conference also includes two days of facilitated discussion tracks, keynote presentations, learning sessions (workshops), benchmarking tours, exhibit displays and the networking opportunity with all the Airports, Airlines and safety personnel’s from across the Middle East and Emerging Markets.
(Source)
Swift action by personnel at Holloman Air Force Base
Three Team Holloman members came across a blown tire, and dealt with the incident quickly, potentially saving valuable Air Force assets.
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Thanks to the quick actions of three Team Holloman members, a foreign object debris issue was handled before any Holloman asset was compromised…….
“We were at the right place at the right time,” said Mr. Vaughus. “Someone’s life could’ve been at stake and possibly our own if it didn’t get cleaned up. It could’ve gotten ugly, so we did what we were supposed to do.”
Foreign object debris surveillance network for runway security
Just came across this article in Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology journal, here’s the abstract:
Purpose – Foreign object debris (FOD) poses a significant hazard to aviation safety and brings huge economic losses to the aerospace industry due to aircraft damage and out-of-service delays. Different schemes and sensors have been utilized for FOD detection. This paper aims to look into a video-based FOD detection system for airport runway security and propose a scheme for FOD surveillance network establishment.
Design/methodology/approach – The FOD detection algorithm for the system is analyzed in detail, including four steps of pre-processing, background subtraction, post-processing and FOD location.
Findings – The overall algorithm is applied to two sets of live video images. The results show that the algorithm is effective for FOD targets of different shades under different lighting conditions. The proposed system is also evaluated by the ground-truth data collected at Nanyang Airport.
Practical implications – The runway security can be greatly increased by designing an affordable video-based FOD detection system.
Originality/value – The paper presents critical techniques of video-based FOD detection system. The scheme for FOD surveillance network, as a significant part of aviation risk management at airports, is applicable and extensible.
Here’s the link.
Stratech’s iFerret Patent Approved
Stratech Press Release:
Singapore, 19 May 2011 – Singapore Exchange Mainboard-listed Stratech Systems Limited (“Stratech” or “the Group”) today announced that its Singapore patent application for the iFerret™ Intelligent Airfield/Runway Surveillance and FOD (Foreign Object and Debris) Detection System has been approved by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS). Beyond Singapore, Stratech is seeking to protect its IP in iFerret™ with similar patent applications filed in countries worldwide.
Designed and developed in Singapore, Stratech’s iFerret™ is the world’s first Intelligent Vision-based FOD Detection System. Using Stratech’s Intelligent Vision software and state-of-the-art Electro-Optic (EO) Sensors, iFerret™ automatically detects, locates, classifies and records FOD in commercial airports and military airbases. Upon the detection of FOD, iFerret™ enables operators to zoom in on the subject for visual verification before sending a remote alert to ground crew to remove the FOD. Read the rest of this entry »
Reservists save millions of dollars with a few steps
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing Maintenance Group are charged with not only maintaining life-saving aircraft here, but also saving millions of dollars in equipment damage with a few simple steps.
See the full article here.
