Beyond Visual Line of Sight Collaboration Event

Where:

Washington, DC

Purpose

The pilot innovation hub, HSWERX, a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and DEFENSEWERX (DWX), will host a Collaboration Event (CE) to identify needs and define requirements for Small Unmanned AircraftSystems (sUAS) Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) technologies and standards. During this open forum, participants from industry, academia, and national laboratories will consider specific challenge areas and develop potential paths forward with actionable plans for implementation.

Objective

DHS would like to identify solutions for miniaturization of capabilities for sUAS so it can clear its own airspace. Smaller UAS (Group III and below) with onboard sensors that fulfill Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements for sense and avoid would dramatically expand the ability to operate in the National Airspace System (NAS).

Background

Group III and below UAS are not authorized to fly within Continental United States (CONUS) BVLOS of the operator. For larger Group III and IV platforms, the FAA may grant limited waivers to fly BVLOS utilizing the same infrastructure and pilots that operate larger UAS platforms.

Why You Should Participate‍

The Collaboration Event (CE) is designed to provide insights to ensure that potential partners understand the problem set(s) fully and to increase the likelihood of matching their technologies with end user needs. This CE is also an opportunity for attendees to network and form partnerships that may provide a more comprehensive solution.

Following the CE, a subsequent Assessment Event (AE) may be initiated to analyze innovative solutions.

Event Timeline

September 20, 2023 Industry, Academia, and Laboratories Collaboration Event (CE)

‍HSWERX will host the CE with government, industry, academic, and laboratory partners focused on DHS needs. During this event, government end users will interact with potential partners and further communicate operational needs, performance goals, and other desired criteria.

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Event Summary

HSWERX, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Technology Transfer & Commercialization Branch (T2C), hosted a Collaboration Event (CE) on behalf of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) centered around Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) capabilities.

Event Outcomes

Participants were divided into 7 groups to discuss CBP’s challenges
319 challenges and ways to overcome were identified
The groups developed 16 problem statements which were prioritized to help stakeholders build assessment criteria for the follow-on Assessment Event (AE)

Percentage of Attendees

Industry:

49%

Government

43%

Academia:

8%

Laboratories

8%

Download Event Summary

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Upcoming Opportunities

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Announcement of HSWERX events that are considered to have high potential for further efforts that may be accomplished via FAR-based contracting instruments, Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for Research Projects, 10 USC 4021 and Prototype Projects 10 USC 4022, Prizes for advanced technology achievements 10 USC 4025, and/or Prize Competitions 15 USC 3719, may be made at the www.hswerx.org and/or www.teamwerx.org website(s). All announcements made at the www.hswerx.org and/or www.teamwerx.org website(s) are considered to satisfy the reasonable effort to obtain competition in accordance with 10 USC 4025, 15 USC 3719 (e) and 10 USC 4022. All FAR-based actions will follow announcement procedures per FAR 5.201(b) accordingly.