The SESAR-supported SPATIO project is delivering a separation management service that will help drones safely and simultaneously operate in very low-level airspace.
Keeping aircraft safely separated is one of the core functions of air traffic management (ATM). But as more and more drones take to the skies, doing so becomes easier said than done.
“Before we can have a high volume of drone traffic transporting goods and people, we first need separation management solutions that will prevent mid-air collisions,” says Pablo Sánchez-Escalonilla, technical manager at CRIDA, a subsidiary of ENAIRE, the Spanish air service navigation provider (ANSP).
Separation management allows drones to operate safely within a given airspace by maintaining a safe distance between them or with manned aircraft. It is a core function of U-space, Europe’s unmanned traffic management (UTM) system designed to control, manage and integrate all drones flying, first within very low-level airspace and, later, at higher altitudes.
Maintaining safe separation requires the consistent integration of several services and technologies that act as mitigation barriers to prevent mid-air collisions.
The number of mitigation barriers needed will depend on such airspace characteristics as number of drones, risk on the ground due to population density, etc. Examples of these barriers include strategic demand and capacity management, conflict prediction/resolution, and detect and avoid, amongst others.
“While many of these technologies already exist, they have yet to be brought together and used as a coordinated separation management solution,” explains Sánchez-Escalonilla.
Enter SPATIO, the SESAR-supported project working to create seamless drone separation management.
“By bringing together industry, ANSPs, institutions, and universities, we aim to replace the research silos that have traditionally separated these innovations with the coordination needed to implement an integrated separation management solution,” adds Sánchez-Escalonilla, who helps coordinate the project.
Safe, secure and simultaneous drone operations
Building on previous research, including that conducted by such SESAR projects as DACUS, BUBBLES and TindAIR, SPATIO is in the process of developing a number of innovative new services. These include, for example, services for dynamic capacity management, strategic conflict resolution and tactical conflict prediction and resolution.
By filling in some of the gaps left by prior research endeavours, these services will ultimately enable the seamless separation management envisioned by U-space. “Together, these solutions will help ensure safe, secure and simultaneous drone operations within high-risk areas like urban environments – an important prerequisite to gaining societal acceptance of drone operations,” says Sánchez-Escalonilla.
SPATIO in action
What will SPATIO-based separation management look like ‘in action’?
According to Sánchez-Escalonilla, it will start while the drone is still on the ground. “When an operator adds their flight plan to the shared database, SPATIO can automatically calculate and weigh U-space demand against available airspace capacity,” he explains. “This enables the system to identify high-risk airspace volumes and implement measures before the drone is even in the air.”
But because plans change and the unexpected can happen, SPATIO’s work doesn’t stop on the ground. It can also manage separation during operations. For instance, the solution will be able to monitor drone activity in a given airspace and, using set separation minima standards, predict and solve potential conflicts in the air.
“When a conflict is predicted, the solution works with the drone pilot to implement common resolution rules and collision avoidance manoeuvres (an evolution of the traditional ‘rules of the air’) to safely guide the aircraft and recover the original flight plan with minimal interference,” notes Sánchez-Escalonilla.
Within the set of mitigation barriers, the project is also working on a solution that will include a ground-based safety net capable of sending minimal commands directly to the drone itself in the event a pilot fails to respond to the provided instructions.
Towards a dynamic drone ecosystem for Europe
Sánchez-Escalonilla is confident the project will achieve a technology readiness level of 7 for some drone operation environments, at which point the solutions will be validated via live demonstrations.
“Thanks to the cooperation of our partners, SPATIO will prove instrumental in safely increasing the number of drones that can simultaneously operating in our skies, ultimately enabling a dynamic drone ecosystem across Europe,” he concludes.
