F1 is GO!Batteries

22 LIGHT AVIATION | SEPTEMBER 2015

By Lee Moore

PilotAware

Crikey where did that come from?’ How many of us have said that on more than one occasion whilst flying? I can recall three occasions where I have been caught unaware

as another aircraft came within reasonably close proximity; luckily for me the distances involved were in no way life threatening, but it is the feeling of somehow being caught unaware and unprepared which is most disconcerting. I am clearly not in a minority, I always find when pilots get together and talk about some of the situations in which they might find themselves, the large majority fall into two categories: engine failure and midair proximity.

In the case of engine failure, there are a number of approaches which can be taken to mitigate the likelihood of an occurrence, involving a regime of good maintenance, flight checks and keeping well informed about ADs and Service Bulletins. In the unfortunate event of an engine failure actually occurring, then hopefully during your flight you have been keeping a good lookout for potential landing sites and you are well rehearsed for a forced landing.

In the case of dealing with the potential issues of traffic conflict, then the preparation is not so methodical and dare I refer to the well-rehearsed RAF phrase of using ‘The MK1 Eyeball’, for keeping a good lookout. I can tell you that using this phrase amongst the company of pilots, or on the various pilot forums, is likely to cause a storm of emotional responses, comments and discussion, the likes of which have not been seen since Khrushchev banged his shoes at the United Nations (way before my time, but I am sure still known to many of us).

All of our senses are fallible and, in some cases, downright misleading; in fact the best confirmation of any sense is usually the comparison to an alternative perspective. For example, you see a cauldron of bubbling liquid and think to yourself ‘boiling water’, only to touch it and discover it is liquid nitrogen.

A few years ago an interesting comment was made to me, “How come when I am on the

ground I can see aircraft all over the sky, yet when I am flying I don’t seem to see nearly as many?” I always thought this was simply due to the enclosed nature of the cockpit in addition to the restricted view. I observed, however, an interesting phenomenon, when going to watch the Vulcan Bomber perform its flypast at Coventry Airport. I noticed a lot of people gazing at their watches and whispering to each other that it was due in a couple of minutes, and then something strange. Rather than looking upward to the sky to see the arrival, there was a bit of a hush, with many looking at the ground, or staring into the distance – and listening intently.

Why had this simple phenomena, not occurred to me before? Whenever we are looking for something, we nearly always use our ears first and then use the direction of the sound to guide our eyes. So is it any wonder we see less traffic in the air, when engine noise and noise cancelling headsets have jammed the guidance system to our eyes, namely our ears.

THe eArs TO GuIde yOur eyesDuring the early development of PilotAware, I was conscious to take on board the valid criticisms of the risk of additional workloads on the pilot. To this end, the intention was to strive for seamless integration into existing navigation systems, to mitigate any additional overhead of the general instrument scan.

Bearing this in mind, let me dispel some myths and confirm some truths:l PilotAware is NOT a replacement for the MK1 eyeball, it is a complementary guidance system to your eyes.l PilotAware should only be considered as part of the general instrument scan.l PilotAware helps with the visible threats only.

The PilotAware hardware is a low-power, low-cost compact

device that can be accommodated in any recreational aircraft

WHAT Is PILOTAWAre?PilotAware was conceived as a low-cost system which should complement existing technology, allowing you to ‘bring your luggage with you’. This was a phrase I learnt many years ago when designing products which should enhance your existing environment, rather than requiring you to undergo the havoc of fundamental change. PilotAware can integrate with your existing navigation, transponder and external GPS receivers (e.g. Bad Elf GPS for iPad). It annotates your existing GPS navigation display with positional information from other aircraft which are fitted with either ADS-B transponders, or PilotAware systems, or both; it is as simple as that.

During the Beta Testing period we have successfully tested PilotAware working with the following GPS navigation systems: SkyDemon, RunwayHD, EasyVFR, Air Navigation Pro, Sky-Map and XCsoar (on Windows PC)

Thankfully, a number of like-minded fellow aviators such as Dominic Connolly, Andy Fell, Russell Hicks, Paul Eastlake, Chris Mills, Alan Walker and too many more to mention, have been helping with the definition of what PilotAware should be capable of doing, as well as the verification of those capabilities in the air and on the ground. Some initial findings are that we are achieving a range of up to 25km, which is beyond the initial expectations, and may strangely require consideration of a reduction in transmit power for technical reasons (bandwidth congestion for traffic detection).

PILOTAWAre TeCHNICAL deTAILsPilotAware hardware is based around the RPi (Raspberry Pi) computer, notably one of the best tested, high volume manufactured goods

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in the world. As of February 2015, volumes had reached five million. The heart of the RPi computer is the ARM Processor Core, from UK-based company ARM Holdings (www.arm.com) which is the world leader in embedded processor technology.

The most important peripheral in PilotAware, and complementing the RPi, is the ARF SRD radio, designed and manufactured by another UK company, WirelessThings (www.wirelessthings.net)

The PilotAware unit measures 90x70x25mm and weighs about 130g. The power source would be additional weight, whether you were to use a battery or an auxiliary 12V to USB supply. This is very powerful and flexible piece of computer hardware, and if you have not renewed your laptop/PC in the last three years, I would hazard a guess that PilotAware in

(Right) PilotAware is also compatible with sky-Map

Runway HD

SkyDeMon eaSy VFR

“Collision is one of the most serious risks affecting GA. To date, anti-collision systems have been too expensive to encourage mass take up. We are very enthusiastic about the low price point and apparent effectiveness of PilotAware. Safety is at the heart of Airbox and we will support RunwayHD users adopting this technology.”

William Moore Chief Technology Officer, Airbox Aerospace Ltd

“It is clear that ADS/B is the traffic awareness technology of the future. At SkyDemon we support initiatives such as PilotAware to help get everybody receiving and transmitting traffic information, for the benefit of everybody’s safety.”

Tim dawson Chief Software Architect, SkyDemon

“With increasing risks of mid-air collisions in Europe, EasyVFR encourages the use of available technology like PilotAware’s beta is showing, and is always willing to assist in any way possible.”

rob Weijers CTO, PocketFMS

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24 LIGHT AVIATION | SEPTEMBER 2015

its Flyweight class, packs more of a punch than most Super Middleweight equivalents.

Free ANd OPeN HArdWAre & OPeN rF PrOTOCOL (P3I)PilotAware is released under an Open Hardware and Open RF-Protocol accord. Whenever I discuss this and refer to the ‘Open’ nature of parts of PilotAware, namely the hardware and RF-Protocol, people are very surprised and ask “Why are you giving it away for free?” The truth is, when I refer to ‘free’ I am referring to ‘free speech’ and not ‘free beer’, there is a subtle and important difference, liberty versus gratis. I have worked in the software and hardware industry for many years, and there has been a gradual shift towards ‘open’ systems. Open systems promote the ability to build eco-systems around products; this is quite contrary to previous generations

of many product developments, which encouraged a secretive and closed nature, or even a restrictive licensing practice.

For PilotAware I have placed the hardware design and the RF Protocol firmly in the public domain. I think it’s a great idea which will spawn an eco-system to surround it, for the aviation community, to base stations, repeaters, control towers, drones and applications I have not yet even considered. If anybody wants to build a competitive or complementary product which works with the PilotAware RF Protocol, I wholeheartedly encourage you, competition and Open Systems are great drivers of technological advances. Attempt to protect your systems using restrictive practises and your technology will decay as newer innovators eat your lunch.

HOW dOes THe sysTeM WOrk?PilotAware is a co-operative system which handles RF messages using a dual band receiver - ADS-B (1090Mhz) and Open-P3I (869.4Mhz). ADS-B and P3I messages are concurrently received and decoded internally. The relative positional location of other aircraft is calculated, including altitude, speed and track, and then forwarded to whichever navigation device you are using. The navigation tool will then overlay the traffic in the display relative to your own position. In parallel, PilotAware is also transmitting your positional information over the Open-P3I RF interface, for other PilotAware users to display your position. (PilotAware is also capable of providing RS232-NMEA messages to an ADS-B capable transponder.)

PILOTAWAre sysTeM INTerFACesADS-B (in) PilotAware contains a Software Defined Radio, this is tuned to transponder ADS-B Broadcasts on 1090mHz, and decodes the data appropriately.

Open-P3I (in/out) The Open-P3I interface transmits and receives positional information to other PilotAware devices operating in the licence free 869.4mHz frequency.

WiFi PilotAware contains a WiFi Hotspot, currently providing the following services: a small web server for configuration information, e.g. providing your ICAO, aircraft type; RS232 configuration for ADS-B out; and a server providing traffic information to GPS Navigation software.

ADS-B (out) NMEA sentences can be generated and sent over an RS232 connection to an ADS-B capable transponder.

FuTurePrOOFOne of the very powerful features of this system is that it is flexible and easily extended, given the standard set of peripheral interfaces. From the initial hardware design concept, it has not

been necessary to enhance the base hardware due to the extensive I/O and USB capabilities available.

The software loading in PilotAware is about 25% of the CPU processing available, which includes the underlying Operating System, the PilotAware application, the HTTP Web Server, and the Navigation Server. In layman’s terms this means that there is plenty of available CPU processing slack for growth and enhancements, once users start to play with the technology and make further requests. PilotAware is architected in such a way that enhancements can be easily made to both the software and hardware.

FuTure eNHANCeMeNT WOrkThere is a lot of vibrant discussion ongoing within the PilotAware forum (forum.pilotaware.com); it is encouraging that the contributors to the forum are engaged and vocal about what they like, what they don’t like and, more importantly, the direction in which further developments should be taken. Examples of potential enhancements, but by no means exhaustive:l Android (Application porting underway)l Collision Prediction Algorithml Audio Warning Systeml External GPS (Enable WiFi iPad)l Drones (an ultra lightweight low-cost version is on the drawing board)l XCsoar, Kobo-Mini

suMMAryPilotAware is still in its infancy, but it is gaining a lot of traction from early adopters, from all aspects of aviation. It is important to ensure that costs are kept within reason (it currently costs under £100 to assemble your own unit) and that the system interfaces remain broad and open. I am confident that as the software begins to mature, more of the aviation community will begin to appreciate the benefits of such a system as it becomes more widely adopted and placed firmly in the mainstream.

(Ed’s note. Lee will be bringing the PilotAware system to the Rally and will be situated in the Homebuilders Centre He will welcome your feedback on the device.) ■

FuRtHeR ReFeRenceSPlease take a look and see what people are saying about PilotAware by following the discussion on the forums, and discover why PilotAware is gaining momentum.

forum.pilotaware.comwww.pilotaware.com

aiR naVigation

wiReLeSS tHingS

“With increasing risks of mid-air collisions in Europe, EasyVFR encourages the use of available technology like PilotAware’s beta is showing, and is always willing to assist in any way possible.”

rob Weijers CTO, PocketFMS

“I’m delighted to see PilotAware following in the same steps as NASA and Microsoft in using WirelessThings’ RF technology. PilotAware not only creates a new price point in the market, but its non-intrusive offering falls squarely in line with WirelessThings’ own ‘retro-fit strategy’ for IoT solutions.”

William stone Head of Channels, WirelessThings PilotAware system

interfaces

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