Abstract
EuroDRONE is an Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) demonstration project, funded by the EU’s SESAR organization, and its aim is to test and validate key UTM technologies for Europe’s ‘U-Space’ UTM program. The EuroDRONE UTM architecture comprises cloud software (DroNav) and hardware (transponder) to be installed on drones. The proposed EuroDRONE system is a Highly Automated Air Traffic Management System for small UAVs operating at low altitudes. It is a sophisticated, self-learning system based on software and hardware elements, operating in a distributed computing environment, offering multiple levels of redundancy, fail-safe algorithms for conflict prevention/resolution and assets management. EuroDRONE focuses its work on functionalities which involve the use of new communication links, the use of vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) technology to communicate information between drones and operators for safe and effective UTM functionality. Practical demonstrations that took place in Patras/Messolonghi in 2019 are presented and show the benefits and shortcomings of near-term UTM implementation in Europe.
Highlights
The EuroDRONE demonstration, along with several similar projects around the EU, aims to examine the applicability of different Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) concepts, technologies, and architectures, to promote the cooperation of the relevant stakeholders and to identify needs, problems, misconceptions that need to be addressed before Europe’s UTM framework ‘U-space’ can be successfully realised [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]
This paper extends the work presented in the 2020 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ICUAS) [14] and provides the extended results on the experimental, technical and regulatory findings of the EuroDRONE project an in-depth view on the practical results and findings achieved
EuroDRONE was able to validate multiple complex UTM technologies and services through two practical demonstrations which took place in July and October 2019 at the Airport of Messolonghi in Greece, with the following objectives met: (i) innovative vehicle-toinfrastructure link (V2I), integrated with a self-learning UTM platform, with the capability to share flight information in real time. (ii) Demonstration of end-to-end UTM applications focusing on visual line of sight (VLOS)/Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) logistics and blue light services. (iii) Advanced autonomy and logistics applications
Summary
The EuroDRONE demonstration, along with several similar projects around the EU, aims to examine the applicability of different Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) concepts, technologies, and architectures, to promote the cooperation of the relevant stakeholders and to identify needs, problems, misconceptions that need to be addressed before Europe’s UTM framework ‘U-space’ can be successfully realised [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9]. EuroDRONE validated key functionalities for V2I, V2V and for highly autonomous UTM operations using LTE/4G networks linked though cloud-based services. Specific recommendations were made to augment the roll out of U-Space services in the near term (2023) as envisioned by the EU [1,2,5,6] highlighting the need for U-Space regulations and standards, the need to use and validate high levels of autonomy and automation in UTM, the need to develop robust detect-and-avoid sensors, ensure reliable LTE/4G networks, as well as the need to validate U2 and U3 services (see Figure 1) through high volume (>20 drones) for practical UTM mission scenarios. EuroDRONE has proven the feasibility of automated UTM for small numbers of drones and for most level 1 and 2 U-Space services. Outside of Europe, UTM efforts are progressing rapidly globally, as detailed in various references [10,11,12,13]
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