55183: Electrical Engineer or similar (f/m/x) - Aeronautical Safety Net Based on Non-cooperative Surveillance

Area of research:

PHD Thesis

Job description:

Today, airspace surveillance uses ground-based, non-cooperative radar as well as cooperative methods, like ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast) and TCAS (Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System). Non-cooperative radar requires an appropriate ground infrastructure. In oceanic and polar regions cooperative methods have to be applied, since no ground infrastructure is available. However, these become ineffective in case of onboard transponder malfunctions or under jamming conditions.

Your research focus is on the development of non-cooperative surveillance concepts to enable detection of neighboring aircraft and, thus, increase situational awareness also in remote areas. Ubiquitously available “signals of opportunity” are utilized for detection which are independent of any ground infrastructure. Especially, the signals of navigation satellites are considered as “signals of opportunity”. Based on their reflections from neighboring aircraft, the position and velocity of these aircraft can be estimated. The low power of the reflected signals is a major challenge. Smart signal processing techniques in conjunction with methods of artificial intelligence are applied to guarantee successful detection of neighboring aircraft.
We expect and highly encourage that you utilize your research work at DLR to pursue earning a PhD degree.

This research center is part of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers. With more than 42,000 employees and an annual budget of over € 5 billion, the Helmholtz Association is Germany's largest scientific organisation.