NZ RC enthusiast forbidden from testing his selfmade Sense and Avoid system
Bruce Simpson, aka XJet on youtube, was planning to test his long-promised “Sense and Avoid” system. This system was meant to allow UAVs to sense approaching vehicles and prevent collisions between FPV UAVs and other models or full size aircraft. His plan was to use low-power 2.4GHz transmissions as a sort of cheap radar system. Asking for permission to perform these tests on the local Tokoroa airfield yielded a hard “no” from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the South Waikato District Council (SWDC).
To quote Bruce:
They claim that the mere 35mW transmissions on the 2.4GHz band associated with my SAA testing would make flying RC model jets unacceptably risky – yet the very people flying them are all wandering around with wifi-enabled smartphones capable of putting out 200mW each on the same frequencies, and the average microwave oven in nearby houses may churn out almost a watt of noise by way of leakage — or at least that’s what Wikipedia claims here:
Bruce is by no means an unknown person in the RC community. He’s best known for his original pulsejet designs, the pulsejet go-cart, and his audacious plans to publish a book on how to build a DIY cruise missile, which resulted in him getting slapped with everything from letters from the US embassy to sudden tax fraud investigations.
Link to the local newspaper article and a video message from Bruce after the break.
Newspaper article: http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/10224044/Drone-testing-at-airfield-shot-down
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