Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM)

Austria’s air traffic control agency, Austro Control, is relying on its longtime tech partner Frequentis to prepare a new Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system that will fully integrate drone flights into the nation’s broader airspace by early 2023.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it will commence field-testing new drone traffic management capabilities as part of its ongoing effort to integrate UAVs into the national airspace, and prepare for anticipated expansion of craft operation for a variety of purposes.

London-based navigation tech company Neuron has offered details on trials it completed in the UK last year, demonstrating its ability to successfully track drones operating beyond visual line of site (BVLOS) missions using its data secured traffic management platform.

UK-based unified traffic management (UTM) technology provider Altitude Angel has announced it is joining Hyundai Motor Group’s Airspace Management Consortium, an initiative to help develop and accelerate advanced air mobility (AAM) operations.

If you can’t beat ‘em, buy ‘em. That, apparently, is the attitude of Brussels Airport, which has taken a 50% stake in a specialized service startup that provides safe and efficient operation of the very drones currently banned in the air around Belgium’s busiest aviation hub.

New York officials have announced the state’s 50-mile drone corridor will be equipped with 5G technology, making it the first in the US to test the cutting-edge communications capabilities for navigation purposes. The decision adds heft to the state’s claim of being a leading force in applied use and development of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and related technologies.

GuardianUTM, a cloud platform by UTM (unified traffic management) technology provider Altitude Angel, will be now be integrated into a not-for-profit search and rescue (SAR) solutions management system, SarStuff.

Israel’s High Lander, which makes fleet management and UTM solutions, has just hit a milestone. The company has received approval for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights in overpopulated urban areas, including residential and commercial zones, in northern Israel.

Telecom giant Verizon’s Skyward affiliate and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have signed accords to test cellular communications in drone operations. Their cooperation will seek to advance development of secure and reliable standards for universal traffic management, beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights, and one-to-many missions.

A Canadian firm has reached a research collaboration agreement with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). The goal, according to a news release, is “to use artificial intelligence in Advanced Air Mobility.”

Canadian Unmanned Traffic Management and fleet management company AirMarket, in partnership with mobility and IT Company Telus, have carried out a successful live demonstration of a system designed to safely operate multiple drones for surveillance, infrastructure monitoring, and more.

UTM provider Altitude Angel has announced it will power AirHub’s enterprise solutions and operations management platform. AirHub’s platform offers drone operators one easy-to-use workflow to plan, execute, and manage missions legally and efficiently.

Altitude Angel has announced its latest product, an airspace management solution for airports to manage drones in the airspace better. The new platform will also allow airports to better equip themselves for the upcoming EASA U-Space Regulations, which are expected to go live on January 1, 2023.

The Indian government is currently exploring the possibility of allowing private airspace controllers for low- altitude drone operations. If approved, this would allow airspace below 1,000 feet to be controlled by private companies rather than a government air traffic controller.

European VC Octopus Ventures has announced it has invested an additional £4 million ($5.3) in British-based UTM provider Altitude Angel. The investment ends the company’s round of Series A funding and brings the funding total for 2020 to £7.05 million ($9.4).

UTM provider Altitude Angel has been shortlisted for two ATM Magazine awards for its partnerships with Inmarsat and LVNL. The company has been working tirelessly over the year to create new partnerships and make drone operations safer with its infrastructure-free UTM network.

Drone mission planning platform Drone Harmony has selected Altitude Angel to provide global map data for the platform. The map data will use the company’s UTM platform to ensure drone missions are safe and stay out of the way of other aircraft.

GUTMA stands for the Global UTM Association. It’s a non-profit consortium of stakeholders in the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) world. And its new paper, in its own words, “marks a significant milestone in the association’s history.” Let’s find out why.

In a recent eight-day test, 369 drone flights were completed to answer how drones could share the airspace with crewed aircraft most safely and efficiently as possible. As many as 12 drones were flying simultaneously at a test site just outside of Blacksburg, Virginia.

CAL Analytics has launched its drone safety platform and detects and avoids services to improve the safety of drone flights. The platform results from a collaborative effort between CAL Analytics, ResilienX, TrueWeather Solutions, Kongsberg Geospatial, Kent State University, and Ohio State University.

Roads and highways offer clearly defined paths for transport by car or truck. Railroad tracks keep trains on the straight and narrow. But what about the skies? Well, there too commercial aircraft follow clearly defined routes. But what about drones? One startup is already working on mapping out corridors in the sky.