TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
Main pic: An autonomous version of
SkyWall that can be mounted on a vehicle
is under development
Right: The SkyWall 100 is fired from the
shoulder and launches a net to capture a
rogue drone
solutions that civil aviation authorities
(CAAs) and air navigation service providers
(ANSPs) can implement immediately to
address the use of drones in their national
airspace are registry and remote ID. He
believes measures such as drone and
operator registration, attestation and
authentication are also essential to safety
and accountability.
UTM systems require registered operators,
remote pilots-in-command and aircraft.
They also require equipment that has
standardised digital interfaces and need to be
integrated with national drone registries. The
creations of interoperable, networked remote
ID solutions will allow CAAs, ANSPs and
law enforcement organisations to remotely
identify and track drones.
“Real-time tracking and visualization of
manned and unmanned aircraft operating in
a given low-altitude airspace is essential for
safety, deconfliction between unmanned and
manned aircraft and drone flight plan
conformance monitoring,” says Marcus.
“Pleasingly, some steps are now being
taken, with EASA recently publishing a
common set of rules for the use of drones,
including a requirement for the majority of
drone operators to register before using one
as of 2020,” he adds.
26 AIR TRAFFIC TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL 2020
Integration and automation
Meanwhile, Yariv Bash, CEO at Israeli drone
technology supplier Flytrex, believes that for
drones to be integrated into national
airspaces it is key that the vehicles and the air
traffic system have an integrated detect and
avoid (DAA) system that can deal with
manned aviation. An example of this is the
Low Altitude Authorization and Notification
Capability (LAANC) system, a system being
developed in the USA by the FAA and
private industry to facilitate the sharing of
airspace data.
“This initiative gives drone pilots access to
controlled airspace at or below 400ft and
Measures must be taken to ensure that all
drone traic is safely managed through
comprehensive UTM
Ben Marcus, co-founder and chairman of the drone digital infrastructure and standards company AirMap