NY works with NASA to develop UAS traffic management system
This article informs my opinion that a large advancement in
UAS technology in the near future will not necessarily come via specific technology,
but rather the industry-wide standards to support it. The proliferation of
unmanned aircraft technology has led to some very fascinating developments in
recent years, which leaves many observers of the UAS industry wondering what
could possibly be next. Aircraft systems are increasing sophistication while decreasing
size, which opens up an area with high growth potential: integrated air traffic
control systems. Providing a new or safer perspective is only a portion of the
benefit of operating a UAS; a true benefit to UAS operations is the ability to
fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). However, without the ability to “sense
and avoid” (S&A) other aircraft and obstacles on the ground, the safety of
UAS flight cannot be completely guaranteed. Manned aircraft rules in the U.S.
require pilots to “see and avoid other aircraft,” regardless of operating under
visual or instrument flight rules (Yodice, 2015). Enter automated traffic
management systems. In November 2016, the state of New York announced a $30
million investment that will be coordinated by the Griffiss International
Airport UAS test site in Rome, NY, with intent to develop a traffic management
system to control UAS flights along a 50-mile corridor between Rome and
Syracuse, NY (Miller, 2016).
Developing a common air traffic control system means that all
of the aircraft sharing the airspace must meet certain technological standards.
In the case of the NY control corridor, NASA is working with industry partners
to develop the technology to bring UAS traffic management into reality. NASA
standards are based on Technology Capability Levels (TCLs), and a real-world
UAS control corridor would be the next step in development (TCL 2).
Another set of technological standards is in work by the
Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA) special committee for UAS
minimum aviation system performance standards (MASPS) (SC-203). The committee
consists of subsystem working groups, one of which is focused on the standards
for the development of S&A technology. By demonstrating conformance to a
standard, UAS system developers can accomplish most of the work towards
satisfying a safety case for their system, especially when seeing integration
into controlled airspace (Zeitlin, 2010).
A different approach with the same goal of automated UAS
airspace integration is ongoing in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in a direct
collaboration between Nokia and the UAE General Civial Aviation Authority
(GCAA). The difference is that Nokia is working directly with the
With successful implementation of NASA/FAA teaming for the
advancement of a traffic management system, along with industry adoption of
RTCA standards, the next 5-10 years will potentially see a large increase in BVLOS
flights by UAS of all sizes. This will only occur when ground-based traffic
management systems operate in concert with UAS that meet industry and
regulatory technological standards.
References:
Miller, P.C. (2016, November). NY works with NASA to develop
UAS traffic management system. UAS
Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.uasmagazine.com/articles/1601/ny-works-with-nasa-to-develop-uas-traffic-management-system
Yodice, J.S. (2015, August). The “see and avoid” rules: helping out the NTSB. Retrieved from https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2015/august/pilot/counsel
Zeitlin, A. D. (2010). Progress on requirements and
standards for sense & avoid. MITRE
Corporation. Retrieved from https://www.mitre.org/sites/default/files/pdf/10_2799.pdf
