INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
A future where drones can easily and cheaply do many useful things such as deliver packages, undertake search and rescue missions and
deliver urgent medical supplies, not to mention unclogging our roads with flying taxis, seems like a future worth shooting for
But before all this can happen, we need to make sure the thousands of drones in the sky are operating safely
A drone needs to be able to automatically detect when entering into the flight path of another drone, manned aircraft or restricted area and
to alter its course accordingly to safely continue its journey
The alternative is the chaos and danger of the recent incidences of drones buzzing major airports, for instance.There is a race on to
produce just such a system
Wing LLC, an offshoot of the Alphabet / Google-owned X company, has announced a platform it calls OpenSky that it hopes will become the
basis for a full-fledged air-traffic control system for drones
States Federal Aviation Administration.But this week, Altitude Angel, a U.K.-based startup backed by Seraphim Capital and with $4.9 million
in funding, has launched its own UTM (Unmanned Traffic Management) system.Its Conflict Resolution System (anti-collision) is basically an
automatic collision-avoidance technology
This means that any drone flying beyond the line of sight will remain safe in the sky and not cross existing flight plans or into restricted
By being automated, Altitude Angel says this technology will prevent any mid-air collisions, simply because by knowing where everything
during the planning stages of a flight, i.e
when someone is submitting flight plans and requesting airspace permission
The system analyses the proposed route and cross-references it with any other flight plans that have been submitted, along with any
restricted areas on the ground, to then propose a reroute to eliminate any flight-plan conflicts
Eventually, what happens is that a drone operator does this from an app on their phone, and the approval to flight is automated.The next
This happens while the drone is actually in flight
The dynamic system continuously monitors the airspace around the aircraft both for other aircraft or for changes in the airspace (such as a
temporary flight restriction around a police incident) and automatically adjusts the route.The key aspect of this CRS is that drones and
drone pilots can store flight plans with a globally distributed service without needing to exchange private or potentially sensitive data
with each other while benefiting from an immediate pre-flight conflict resolution advice.Altitude Angel CEO and founder Richard Parker says:
accordingly is critical in ensuring safety in our skies
This first step is all about pre-flight coordination, between drone pilots, fleet operators and other UTM companies
Being able to predict and resolve conflict mid-flight by providing appropriate and timely guidance will revolutionize automated flight
