The size, weight, power and cost considerations that drive avionics design apply as usual for small drones and compact urban air mobility vehicles that will be expected to perform like traditional aircraft in managed airspace.
While a beam-steering radar “costs hundreds of thousands of dollars at the low end,” Echodyne’s radars are priced at “tens of thousands of dollars,” says Frankenberg. “The whole concept around it is the ability to make a beam-steering radar like a phased-array radar but without using phase shifters,” says Frankenberg. “By eliminating those and all the complicated electronics, we can create a true beam-steering radar at commercial price points.”
Read the entire article at Aviation Week (paywall)
