W-band Radar aboard of Unmanned Aerial System for Wire Strike Avoidance

Wire strikes pose a serious threat for small UAS flying below 120 m, as wires are difficult to detect with the onboard visual system. In this paper we experimentally tested the capability of a W-band miniaturized radar as wire strike avoidance system for a small UAS in autonomous operation. The radar successfully detected the wire and the UAS was able to change its trajectory according to the position of the wire retrieved by the radar, in all tests we performed.