A systematic review of radar technologies for surveillance of foreign object debris detection on airport runway

Abstract

Flights are projected to reach eight billion globally by 2037, demanding airport operators manage operations effectively, including safety on the runway due to the high number of aircraft movements. One crucial issue is any foreign object, commonly known as foreign object debris (FOD), that must be detected and cleaned immediately to ensure aircraft safety when taking off, landing, and taxing. The International Civil Aircraft Organization (ICAO) reported that FOD causes 10.08% of aviation accidents. Most airports manually monitor and detect FOD, which could be more effective and dangerous. Therefore, it is important to provide FOD detection systems with proper technologies. Radar technologies are potential FOD detection techniques that offer robustness to weather fluctuation. However, some factors must be considered properly to provide an effective FOD system. This paper reviews radar technologies for FOD detection on airport runways by considering factors, including types of debris, detection coverage, mode of radars, frequencies, and attenuation. It was found that all critical factors considered contribute to the quality of detection. This paper will provide guidelines for developing FOD detection based on radar technologies regarding airport necessities and its specific environment.