NATS - National Aerospace Technology Strategy > ATVPs and AINs > Sensors Technology AIN
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The aerospace industry is recognised as one of the leading sectors in technology development, acting as a stimulus for growth and generating a substantial balance of trade surplus. This makes aerospace the UK's most competitive manufacturing sector. Investment in R&T and R&D gives civilian aerospace sustainability and military aviation battle winning advantage.
As part of the National Aerospace Technology Strategy (NATS), the Aerospace Innovation Growth Team's (AeIGT) initiative is to realise the vision that "by 2022 the
One of these recognised areas is the Sensors Technology AIN, which will address competitiveness in aerospace sensor technologies, including specific government targets relating to the environment, safety, security and national defence. This will best position industry to overcome international competition in the
The objective is to ensure that the technology generated by the science base is developed in the industrial supply chain to a level of technical maturity sufficient for future product development. This can only realistically be achieved by a programme of joint government, industry and academic research.
The AIN will bring together key suppliers and users of sensor technologies, including SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems UK Ltd, BAE SYSTEMS Air Systems, BAE SYSTEMS Insyte, Thales UK Ltd and Roke Manor Research as the major industrial partners, working with government agencies and the wider supply chain, including as necessary SMEs, research institutions and universities. The participants will define and implement a five-year rolling research agenda, in the form of research projects, to address future requirements.
Research Themes
Future requirements will be driven by the advent of Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs) and Networked Enabled Capability (NEC), as well as the need for combating terrorism and for greater affordability. Advanced sensors will be required for navigation and pilotage to enable UAVs to operate in the same airspace as manned aircraft. Global information networks will allow sensors to be networked, which when coupled with novel data fusion algorithms, will provide a capability that is greater than the sum of the parts. Sensors to enhance safety and security will be needed to combat terrorism, with emphasis on preventing an attack being initiated. Affordability will push the need for common technology across platforms, perhaps sourced from adjacent markets, with advances required in underlying technologies such as high performance analogue-to-digital converters and semiconductor materials, as well as developing low cost, environment friendly manufacturing techniques.
Research projects will be aligned to these future requirements and will be grouped together under the following technology themes:
- Sensors to enhance pilotage and navigation
- Sensors to enhance safety and security
- Sensor fusion and networking
- Supporting / underpinning sensor technologies
The nominated industry lead company for this programme is SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems UK Ltd.
Benefits
Benefits to industry will include the development of breakthrough sensor technologies and subsequent risk reduction of these technologies in the form of proof of principle demonstrators. This will maintain industry at the forefront of the global aerospace sensor market and best position it to respond to future market demands. New technologies generated through this programme will be disseminated among the members of the AIN allowing commercial exploitation through mechanisms such as ATVPs, for example INFOAir and ASTRAEA, or through consortium members' private venture programmes. It is also likely that many of these technologies will have applicability to other industrial sectors, for example telecommunications and transport (land and maritime).
For the user and customer communities, significant advances are envisaged from miniaturisation and packaging of sensors, consolidation and integration of sensors and networking data and fusing sensor pictures.
The AIN will also help promote economic development in a number of regions, for example South West, South East, East and North West of England, and by helping sustain and increase high value added, high wage and high technology employment in these regions over the long term.
Status
The programme is currently in the scoping stage. Ongoing activities include aligning research institutions and universities to the four technology themes and projects within them; research activities will be placed with the establishment best qualified to carry out the work. The research programme is expected to commence in late 2007.