Since almost one third of helicopter accidents with fatal casualties are caused by impact with obstacles and cables, developing and improving anti-collision systems against low-visibility obstacles is clearly a key objective for avionics specialists. Finmeccanica’s Selex Communications has had success with various military users of its laser obstacle avoidance and monitoring (LOAM) system since introducing it in 2000.
With a view to broadening its applications into civil applications, the Italian company has continued to develop the system with the aim of reducing the LOAM’s weight. As a result, its sensor head unit (SHU) structure, which is located in the aircraft nose, now weighs just over 47 pounds, some five pounds less than previously, while maintaining the same dimensions, center of gravity and performance. The improvement was achieved through an analysis of the rigidity needed to maintain a stable optical path for the electro-optic components.
