Swiss air traffic control organisation Skyguide and aviation management platform AirMap announced the rollout of the first national drone air traffic control system in Europe. The system will be called Swiss U-space and will comply with standards defined by the European SESAR Joint Undertaking.
SESAR Joint Undertaking is a mechanism coordinating and concentrating research and development (R&D) activities in the European Union. The organisation aims to develop the next generation of air traffic control and connects experts for this purpose. About 3,000 experts from Europe and beyond are involved in SESAR. SESAR Joint Undertaking does not focus specifically on drones.
The European organisation says on its website that Europe's air traffic control system is outdated. The system is being revamped in view of the expected increase in air traffic between now and 2035; 700 million passengers and 14.4 million flights are expected to be carried in the European Union (EU) in 2035. The SESAR Joint Undertaking is focused on developing a new European air traffic control system called U-space. The system is expected to be rolled out in 2019.
Swiss U-space
Skyguide and AirMap report that Swiss U-space will be the first national implementation of U-space. Among other things, the system will use the AirMap Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) platform, which connects air traffic controllers to the drone ecosystem. Among other things, this platform allows pilots and drones to register in AirMap's database or a third-party database and publish aviation regulations. Air traffic control can also use the platform to send advisories to drone pilots and communicate with them via notifications.
Swiss U-space will include several features:
- blockchain-based registration for users and drones;
- dynamic geofencing and direct digital flight authorisation;
- real-time air traffic reports for drone pilots and live drone telemetry for air traffic controllers;
- connectivity and communication between drone pilots and air traffic controllers;
- other services to enable simultaneous flights in shared airspace.
Pilot starts in June
A pilot with Swiss U-space will start in June. This will integrate the The AirMap platform into Skyguide's air traffic control infrastructure to enable automated flight authorisation from one central environment. In addition, Skyguide and AirMap will develop a roadmap for rolling out a fully operational air traffic control system for drones. This system, like Europe's U-space, should be launched in 2019.
"Establishing a U-space is key to increasing drone safety and addressing the security and privacy concerns of our citizens. To achieve these goals, seamless cooperation between all partners involved is crucial. I am pleased to see that an important step has been taken to overcome this challenge," said Christian Hegner, director-general of the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation.
Skyguide and AirMap expect Swiss U-space to boost the Swiss drone economy. The number of drone flight requests coming into Skyguide has increased tenfold since 2013.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Skyguide
Source: AirMap
Source: SESAR Joint Undertaking
Source photo: Pixabay / Powie
