Conference Paper

Towards a U-space compliant UTM for urban airspaces

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

The traffic volume of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) is expected to grow significantly over the coming decade. The European U-space regulation draft defines in abstract terms how UAS traffic will be managed in future. Naturally, the draft omits compliance and implementation details, which are left to working groups at EASA and various standardization bodies. In this paper, we provide an overview of challenges that need to be solved before a UAS traffic management (UTM) that is compliant with the regulation may become operational. Furthermore, we present initial solution approaches with regard to airspace design and deconfliction. Our results are based on experience in implementing a prototypical UTM for the city of Hamburg, Germany, an urban environment in controlled airspace. However, many of our results are applicable to other environments as well.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Operational and technical concepts for airspace management, information provision, traffic flow control and monitoring, as well as infrastructure for communication, navigation and surveillance were defined, simulated and validated in three flight-testing phases: a bridge inspection with multiple drones in the center of the city of Hamburg, dynamic geofencing [26] and safe drone operation in dense traffic [27] were demonstrated. The projects i-LUM [28] and UDVeo [29] are further elaborating a prototypical UTM for the use case Hamburg. ...
Article
Full-text available
Urban air mobility is a rapidly growing field of research. While drones or unmanned aerial vehicles have been operated mainly in the private and military sector in the past, an increasing range of opportunities is opening up for commercial applications. A new multitude of passenger-carrying drone or air taxi concepts promises to fulfill the dream of flying above congested urban areas. While early research has been focusing on vehicle development, solutions for urban air traffic management are lagging behind. This paper collects and reviews the main findings of past urban-air-mobility-related research projects at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) to serve as a basis for ongoing research from an air traffic management perspective.
... Unbemannte Luftfahrtsysteme (Unmanned aerial systems -UAS), besser bekannt als Drohnen, bergen ein großes wirtschaftliches Potenzial, indem sie die multimodale Mobilität um ein zusätzliches Transportmittel bereichern [1]. Mit der zunehmenden Zahl komplexer UAS-Operationen wie Infrastrukturinspektionen, Überwachungs-sowie Such-und Rettungseinsätzen hat sich der Einsatzbereich von UAS erweitert, und es wird erwartet, dass der UAS-Luftverkehr in urbanen Lufträumen in den kommenden Jahren erheblich zunehmen wird [2]. ...
Conference Paper
Die sichere Integration von Unbemannten Flugsystemen (Unmanned Aircraft Systems-UAS) in den bestehenden Luftverkehr ist eine große Herausforderung bei der Einrichtung eines Drohnenverkehrsmanagements in einem U-Space-Luftraum. Die sogenannte U-Space-Verordnung beschreibt verpflichtende U-Space-Dienste, die UAS-Betreibern helfen sollen, UAS sicher in den urbanen Luftraum zu integrieren. Einer dieser Dienste ist der UAS-Fluggenehmigungsdienst (U-FAS), welcher Fluggenehmigungsanfragen in der strategischen Planungsphase von UAS Flügen koordinieren und verwalten soll. Bisher existieren keine detaillierten Spezifikationen dieser Dienste. Dieser Beitrag stellt ein Konzept für einen automatisierten und U-Space-konformen Fluggenehmigungs-und Aktivierungsprozess vor, welcher die Mindestanforderungen an einen UAS-Fluggenehmigungsdienst aktueller U-Space-Rahmenwerke erfüllt.
... Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), more commonly referred to as drones, hold enormous economic potential by adding an additional means of transportation to multimodal mobility [1]. With the increasing number of complex UAS operations such as infrastructure inspection, surveillance, and search and rescue missions, the operational scope of UAS has expanded, and UAS air traffic in urban airspaces is expected to increase significantly in the coming years [2]. ...
Conference Paper
The safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into urban airspace is one of the most important challenges in establishing UAS Traffic Management (UTM). The term U-space, which evolved from European UTM research projects, encompasses a set of services and procedures designed to enable the safe, efficient and sustainable integration of UAS into urban airspace. These services have not yet been sufficiently described, neither legally nor technically. One of these services is the UAS flight authorization service (U-FAS), which is intended to coordinate and manage flight authorization requests during the strategic planning phase of UAS flights. In a U-space, UAS operators are required to request flight authorization and activation from the UAS service provider (USSP) to obtain an approval for UAS operations in U-space airspace. By means of this flight authorization process, UAS integration is intended to be compliant with safety and regulatory requirements. Existing process models have addressed this challenge but are neither comprehensive enough nor compatible with the European legislation, the U-space regulation. This paper presents a BPMNbased workflow concept for a U-space compliant flight authorization and activation process that takes into account the minimum requirements for a UAS flight authorization service of current U-space frameworks. The focus in this paper is on the complete end-to-end process model from the submission of a flight authorization request to the launch of the UAS.
Global Drone Market to Reach $70B by 2029
  • Bloomberg
Bloomberg. Global Drone Market to Reach $70B by 2029. 2019. Available online: https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2019-05-30/the-global-unmanned-aerial-vehicle-uavmarket-to-reach-to-70-28-billion-by-2029 (accessed on December 29, 2020).
Roadmap for the safe integration of drones into all classes of airspace
  • Sesar Joint Undertaking
  • European
  • Masterplan
SESAR Joint Undertaking. European ATM Masterplan: Roadmap for the safe integration of drones into all classes of airspace. 2018. Available online: https://www.sesarju.eu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/European%20ATM%20Master%20Pla n%20Drone%20roadmap.pdf (accessed on February 1, 2021).
Supporting Safe and Secure Drone Operations in Europe
  • Sesar
  • Undertaking
SESAR Joint Undertaking. Supporting Safe and Secure Drone Operations in Europe. 2020. Available online: https://www.sesarju.eu/sites/default/files/documents/reports/U-space%20research%20innovation%20results.pdf (accessed on January 29, 2021).