Rules and regulations of unmanned flight vary from country to country but it is clear that if UAS flights are not monitored, the public may face some major risks. From close encounters with airplanes and possible collisions with helicopters, if there are not properly enforced rules governing the movements of drones, our skies could become chaotic in the very near future.
Airmap and Skyguide have partnered to develop and deploy the first national Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system in Europe. Together they launched U-space, a digital infrastructure purposed to enable situational awareness, data exchange, and digital communication for millions of drones in European skies.
In a pilot phase starting in June 2018, skyguide and AirMap plan to integrate the AirMap UTM platform with skyguide’s infrastructure and introduce automated flight authorization in a single airspace environment. They plan to deploy a fully operational drone traffic management system in 2019.
Swiss U-space will include features such as:
- Blockchain-based registration for users and drones;
- Dynamic geofencing and instant digital airspace authorization;
- Real-time traffic alerts for drone pilots and live drone telemetry for airspace managers;
- Connectivity and communication between drone pilots and airspace administrators; and
- Other services to enable simultaneous flights in shared airspace.
“The establishment of a U-space is the key to improve drone operations’ safety and to satisfy the security and privacy concerns of our citizens,” said Christian Hegner, director general of Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation. “In order to achieve these objectives, a seamless cooperation between all the partners involved is crucial. I am glad to see that a further important step to tackle this challenge was taken today.”