DronesSafe Airspace in the Age of Drones
Drones are becoming more and more ubiquitous, and are being used for everything from backyard fun to military operations. As the technologies for UAS continues to improve, so has the potential for them to be used in illegal and dangerous ways.
When you think of a story about federal agencies joining forces, “feel good” might not necessarily be the descriptor you’d reach for. But, in this case, we at the think we’re onto something.
Here is a story from DHS Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) which includes cool technology and the best minds in government research and development coming together to keep our country, and the skies above it, safe.
We are all familiar with drones, or as they are more formally called, Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). They are becoming more and more ubiquitous, and are being used for everything from backyard fun to military operations. Relatively inexpensive, small, and easy to deploy, they can be controlled with a specialized remote control, an app on your phone, or they may be programmed to autonomously follow a predetermined mission. And, as the technologies for UAS continues to improve, so has the potential for them to be used in illegal and dangerous ways.
In order to deal with these emerging threats, novel and innovative technologies need to be researched, developed, tested, and deployed—which is why S&T launched two unique efforts related to UAS Traffic Management (UTM) and Air Domain Awareness (ADA).
UTM is an S&T-funded initiative that supports the integration of drones into the National Airspace System (NAS). The primary objective of this project is to establish airspace flight corridors, geo-fencing, route planning, terrain avoidance guidance, and weather alerts (among other capabilities) that will enable the safe and secure integration of UAS into our NAS.
“UTM began at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center in 2013 with a research project,” says S&T technical subject matter expert Tim Bennett. “A NASA engineer had an idea for an innovative way to approach the problem using software and started with $5,000 of funding from NASA.”
ADA, on the other hand, prioritizes the development and implementation of aerial surveillance technologies that can detect, track, and identify low-flying (defined as ground level to 500 ft in the air) aircraft and determine their potential threat level.
