Original and Low-Cost ADS-B System to Fulfill Air Traffic Safety Obligations during High Power LIDAR Operation

Frédéric Peyrin; Patrick Fréville; Nadège Montoux; Jean-Luc Baray

doi:10.3390/s23062899

Original and Low-Cost ADS-B System to Fulfill Air Traffic Safety Obligations during High Power LIDAR Operation

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Mar 7;23(6):2899. doi: 10.3390/s23062899.

Authors

Frédéric Peyrin¹, Patrick Fréville¹, Nadège Montoux², Jean-Luc Baray^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Observatoire de Physique du Globle de Clermont Ferrand, UAR 833, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.
² Université Clermont Auvergne, CNRS, Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique, UMR 6016, F-63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France.

Abstract

LIDAR is an atmospheric sounding instrument based on the use of high-power lasers. The use of these lasers involves fulfilling obligations with respect to air safety. In this article, we present a low-cost air traffic surveillance solution integrated into an automated operating system for the Rayleigh-Mie-Raman LIDAR of Clermont Ferrand and the statistical elements of its application over more than two years of operation from September 2019 to March 2022. Air traffic surveillance that includes the possibility of shutting off lasers is required by international regulations because LIDAR is equipped with a class four laser that presents potential dangers to aircraft flying overhead. The original system presented in this article is based on software-defined radio. ADS-B transponder frames are analyzed in real-time, and laser emission is stopped during LIDAR operation when an aircraft is detected within a 2 km radius around the LIDAR. The system was accredited in 2019 by the French air traffic authorities. Laser shutdowns due to the detection of aircraft near the Clermont Ferrand LIDAR caused a data loss rate of less than 2% during the period of application.

Keywords: ADS-B; LIDAR; air safety obligation.

Grants and funding

CO-PDD is an instrumented site of the OPGC observatory and LaMP laboratory, supported by UCA (Université Clermont Auvergne), CNRS-INSU (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique), and CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales). More specifically, the LIDAR COPLid and its air traffic surveillance system are supported within the framework of the EECLAT CNRS project (Expecting Earth-Care, Learning from A-Train) and ACTRIS research infrastructure (Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure).