A grey-scale video camera with light filtering and software for detecting ice on runways and wings will be evaluated by the US Federal Aviation Administration in May.
The trial will also involve Transport Canada and the European Aviation Safety Agency and the camera will be evaluated against a human's ability to spot ice.
Developed for about C$2 million ($1.6 million) by Ontario-based MDA, the video camera will cost C$50,00-60,000 per unit if it is certificated for use onde-icing vehicles in about a year's time.The camera is fitted with lenses that filter out certain wavelengths of light. As ice reflects light at specific wavelengths, this is what the computer looks for. Spectral analysis software will examine the wavelengths received by the camera and study each pixel of the video image so the computer can identify the presence of ice.
"You would use it before and after the de-icing operation and just before take-off. Taking a de-icing vehicle out to a runway you could also examine the runways for ice," says MDA product development manager Frank Tet.
The US Army's vision laboratory has already purchased a prototype camera on behalf of NASA. It will be used to examine Space Shuttle Discovery's external fuel tank.
Source: Flight International