iFerret™
intelligent Airfield/Runway Surveillance and FOD (Foreign Object & Debris) Detection System
Incidents arising from Foreign Objects & Debris (FOD) on runways cost the aviation industry US$4 billion in aircraft repairs and maintenance annually. Flight delays and accident claims add to the cost. FOD includes a wide range of materials, such as a part fallen off from an aircraft, a detached runway light fitting, building materials, rocks and even wildlife. The Air France Concorde crash in July 2000, which claimed 113 lives, reinforces the need for real-time, automated FOD detection.
 Currently, airports conduct daily manual runway sweeps to remove FOD. This tedious and error-prone process can be automated through iFerret™ - the world’s first intelligent vision-based FOD detection system.
iFerret™ is designed to detect and classify foreign objects, as well as pinpoint their location. This revolutionary system features self-calibrating cameras, automated scene analysis and configurable scan resolution for different object sizes. Providing continuous runway inspection in-between flights, it facilitates rapid recovery response through accurate assessment and real-time alert for FOD, bird strike condition, and even battle damage surveillance.
iFerret™ has won the R&D prize at the Asia Pacific ICT Awards (APICTA) 2006 . It was also awarded The Enterprise Challenge (TEC) Initiative by the Prime Minister’s Office of Singapore.
TOTAL Airfield Surveillance & FOD Detection System
iFerret™ Features
- Automated Surveillance for FOD
- Wide area scanning of FOD using remotely placed electro-optic sensors
- Continuous surveillance of runway
- Automated, 24x7 all-weather operations
- Operational at night without assisted illumination
- Built-in redundancy for continuous detection
- FOD Detection
- Detect, identify and locate FOD in real-time
- Proven to detect very small object down to 2cm
- Detect FOD of various sizes, shapes, materials and colours
- Visual View
-
Rich visual assessment of detected FOD
-
Zoom-in view to confirm FOD presence
-
User-directed view for visual verification
- FOD Recovery
- Scalability
- Scalable for runways and taxiways of any length
- Deployable in all FOD-prone environments such as runways, taxiways, aprons, aircraft hangars and even on aircraft carrier flight decks
- Applicable for both commercial airports and military airbases
- Battle Damage Assessment
- Deployable for detecting and locating runway/airfield damage such as potholes and craters
- During war time, can be used for runway/airfield battle damage assessment and detection as well as location for unexploded ordnances
- Post Event Analysis
- Record and playback for post-event analysis/investigation
- Comprehensive reporting functions
 to view iFerret larger image.
- Step 1: Dedicated Inspection
Dedicated electro-optic sensors monitor defined areas of runway sectors continuously.
- Step 2: FOD Dectection
iFerret™ processes electro-optic images to detect FOD in real-time.
- Step 3: Real-time Alert
Audio and video alert with location information.
- Step 4: Visual Verification
Zoom-in view of detected FOD for visual verification.
- Step 5: Remote Alert
Remote alert to mobile devices with text and/or image details.
- Step 6: Recovery Dispatch
Rapid recovery of FOD.
Download iFerret™ brochure.
Download iFerret™ Case Study.
Download iFerret™ Video
runway, runway surveillance, intelligent runway surveillance, airport surveillance, airport security, runway security, foreign object & debrisdetection, FOD detection system |
;){kind=small}