Collision-avoidance method for cooperating carriers and onboard optical assembly designed for its implementation

A collision-avoidance method for cooperating carriers, said method comprising the steps of:

• transmitting, from each carrier monochromatic pulsed lightwaves, coming from four wide-field optical transmission devices to cover the entire zone surrounding each of said carrier simultaneously to define a zone of proximity with the power of the optical transmission defining, under given weather conditions, the range of the transmission and thus the zone covered;
• receiving, at each carrier, monochromatic, pulsed lightwaves radiated into the space by other cooperating carriers, on four wide-field optical reception devices covering into the proximity zone of another carrier prompting the detection of light radiation and the triggering of an alarm of either carrier;
• placing a first two of said four optical transmission devices on a respective side of each of said carriers on either side of the vertical plane of symmetry of said carriers wherein the optical axes of said first two carriers are slightly offset from a parallel relationship in such a way that the spaces covered by each of the transmissions of the said first two transmission devices, in the horizontal plane of said carrier, overlap at a first predetermined distance from said carrier in one of a front and rear of said carrier and wherein the spaces covered by each of the transmissions of said first two transmission devices in the horizontal plane of said carrier, do not overlap in the other one of said front and rear of said planes;
• placing a second two of said four optical transmission devices on the top and bottom of said carrier symmetrical about a horizontal plane of said carrier in such a manner that the optical axes of said second two carriers are slightly offset from being parallel in order to provide that spaces covered by each of the transmissions of said second two transmission devices, in a vertical plane of said carrier, do not overlap in said one of the front and rear of said carrier and wherein the spaces covered by each of the transmissions of said second two devices, in said vertical plane of said carrier, overlap at a second predetermined distance from said carrier to thereby provide substantially full volume coverage of the area surrounding each of said carriers.