Bill Gates-Backed 'Echodyne' Radar Makes Flying Cars & Delivery Drones Closer To Reality

The Bellevue company "Echodyne", a company backed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen among others, tested its Detect and Avoid (DAA) "Echodyne" radar on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) on Tuesday and it passed with flying colors.

The technology in "Echodyne" radar called Detect And Avoid (DAA) uses radar vision to sense any obstacles wherever it is mounted, which allows UAV to fly through the air even outside the line of sight of the operator. This technology has never been possible. The current sensor technologies being employed today are LIDAR and camera, and unlike the "Echodyne" radar technology, they are only able to see obstacles within their line of sight, as opposed to the "Echodyne" radar's capability of tracking long-range obstacles within a broad field of vision regardless of the weather.

During the tests, the researchers used the developer kit, which is the MESA-DAA predecessor which should detect and track the Cessna-sized targets within 3 kilometers, and small drones at 750 miles away. "Echodyne" radar was able to scan the latitude and longitude, the terrain of up to 120 degrees x 80 degrees. It was able to detect and track different aircraft such as small UAV, an ultralight jet, and a Beechcraft Bonanza flying within its airspace. The "Echodyne" radar was able to provide 4D data cube that depicted the terrain, stationary and moving obstacles, and the flight paths of the aircraft it was mounted on.

With the "Echodyne" radar's patented Metamaterial Electronically Scanning Array (MESA), the technology is made portable, which can be used as a compact and lightweight radars for autonomous vehicles like UAVs, cars, and security surveillance systems.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued certain regulations for manning small UAVs requiring them to stay within the line of sight of the pilot to avoid any collision. With the "Echodyne" radar DAA sensor, UAVs can see and avoid obstacles within its airspace like that of a manned aircraft.

The "Echodyne" Radar MESA-DAA will be flying over commercial customers early 2017.