Dubai Airshow: Middle East to get new sensor integration centre of excellence

The new venture will be focused on introducing the newly developed AW139 ViDAR self-contained aerial reconnaissance (SCAR) day/night ‘optical radar’ pod to the UAE market.

Tony Okill, managing director of Phoenix Aerospace, predicted that this would “not only place the UAE front and centre of this dynamic industry but, importantly, ensure that the ViDAR optical sensor system will become the chosen solution for a range of applications and platforms operating within the UAE”.

The system is flying on a Viking Twin Otter ISR demonstrator, and has been demonstrated on the Diamond DA42MPP, but the new pod is optimised for use on search-and-rescue helicopters, starting with the Leonardo Helicopters AW139.

Sentient Vision Systems claims to be the inventor of what it calls the world’s first optical radar. Its innovative visual detection and ranging (ViDAR) system actually uses artificial intelligence and deep learning to process and scan the video output from five high-megapixel video cameras in order to autonomously detect objects and identify targets in real time, and round the clock.

It does this over a much wider swathe of ocean than is possible using current optical sensor approaches. The system places a thumbnail image on the operator’s screen showing the bearing and range of the target, and can automatically cue other sensors (perhaps an IR/EO turret).

The wide swathe of ocean covered gives an aircraft or helicopter equipped with ViDAR significantly greater operational coverage, allowing survivors in the water or on liferafts to be found much more quickly.

As well as search-and-rescue operations at sea, the new system is well suited to military intelligence and surveillance operations, police operations, anti-smuggling, narcotics interdiction, anti-piracy and illegal fishing as well as border protection and the detection of migrants.

Richard Glynn-Jones, head of EMEA business development said that although there is, as yet, no contract for the new pod, Sentient has experienced a high level of interest and is busy building the team and demonstrating the system’s capabilities.