UTM – Traffic System for Drones!

Plans have been unveiled by Internet giants, Google, and NASA and 13 other Tech companies, including Amazon, for an air-traffic control system for drones.

Aptly named, the Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Traffic Management system.

The US Government, has up till recently had its ‘head in the sand’ regarding the commercial use of Drones. The FAA only recently granted Amazon (and others) exception to trail the ‘Prime Air’ delivery service, on US soil. Amazon had been testing their new delivery system, over the boarder in Canada.

Rather than let the air be clogged with unruly, unregulated unmanned UAS,  the US Government is seeking to work with the private sector to create rules of the aerial road.

The move comes after a series of incidents involving drones, including crashes at national parks and on the White House grounds. Yet, for some businesses, the regulations can’t come fast enough.

“A UAS traffic management (UTM) system for low-altitude airspace is needed, much like today’s surface vehicles that operate within a system consisting of roads, lanes, stop signs, rules, and lights, regardless of whether the vehicle is automated or driven by a human,”

NASA said on its website.

“While incorporating lessons learned from the well-established ATM system, which grew from a mid-air collision over the Grand Canyon in the early days of commercial aviation, the UTM system would enable safe and efficient low-altitude airspace operations by providing services such as airspace design, corridors, dynamic geofencing, severe weather and wind avoidance, congestion management, terrain avoidance, route planning and re-routing, separation management, sequencing and spacing, and contingency management,” the agency continued.

This can only be a good thing for our industry, and if something takes off in America, you can bet its going to take off in the UK too!

Will the CAA be as flexible and forthcoming as the FAA appear to be? Possibly not. Although there is now formal discussion on UAS delivery services, there is no mention of the actual practicalities. As i have discussed before, there needs to be a radical change in public perception of Drones, a change in rules for un-aided line of slight flights, and finally an improvement in UAS technology; both GPS and Battery life…..

Another factor is location. There is still no mention to the use of Drones for delivery, in congested areas. This might be one reason why Drone delivery might work in the US but not UK. We are a much much smaller country, things are more compact… any flight in the UK will most likely be into or over a congested area. This might not be the case in more remote areas of the US.

Anyways any UAS news that is not another ‘fly away’ or crash, can only be a good thing, and with Institutions like NASA and corporate giants like Google and Amazon, firmly on the band wagon, this are beginning to move in a more positive direction.

TU

Source – Phil Fantino

Source – https://www.rt.com/usa/310705-drone-air-traffic-control/