Week 3 - UAM, NextGen and UTM and the Overall Integration of UAS into the NAS
UAM is the next evolution of urban transportation options
as it targets an untapped market of low to medium airspace that can be
exploited to help offset the congestion of traditional ground transportation
mediums. UAM will be faced with numerous challenges such as integration
into the national airspace and safety protocols to ensure that the general
public is not put to unnecessary risk. The initiatives put forth by NextGen can
help facilitate the introduction of certain UAM models such as Uber Air but it
will not be a comprehensive solution. Technology such as ADS-B should be
mandated in the new UAM models to help precisely track position and other flight
details to help de-conflict the airspace. Further Data Communications and
Digital Voice will help accommodate the high volume of UAM models to be
introduced into the future. This means of communication will introduce
scalability in communicating routing changes or conveying flight plan
acknowledgements. This also ties into the UAS Traffic Management System (UTM)
as the integration of unmanned aircrafts under 400 feet will have to be
integrated into the existing framework for managing general aviation
traffic.
Greatest Challenge for UAS integration into NAS
In my opinion, the greatest challenge will be the UAS
operators’ actions as it pertains to real-time information that is conveyed
whether it be routing changes due to higher priority air traffic or any
violation of FAA rules that may occur in flight that cause that UAS to be
grounded. The medium to communicate such
information or instructions from an air traffic controller or air traffic
network will need to be agile and such that human factors are considered. Traditional means of dialing a cellular phone
would most likely not be feasible given the distraction it may pose to the UAS
operator. It would have to be an
interface design that is built into a ground control station that is at all
times visible to the operator of that UAS.
Incorporation of UAS into NextGen
I believe that this incorporation is a marriage of
complementary convenience. The NextGen
initiatives such as ADS-B components on air vehicles will help increase flight
data and overall situational awareness.
This increased awareness will help with distance separations and
maintenance of safe buffer within congested air traffic zones. At the same time, better accuracy allows the
exploitation of more air corridors that are traditionally managed
conservatively to ensure an expansive buffer zone. You will be able to fit more
aircrafts within the air space increasing density while doing it safely. Digital voice will also complement my earlier
concern as communications between air traffic oversights to all remotely
piloted operators at greater scale than conventional analog communications.
Detect Sense and Avoid (DSA) for UAS in NAS
DSA will need to be an inherent design for UAS as it
integrates into the NAS. A full spectrum
of solutions should be in place from manual flight procedures to ATC
surveillance to cooperative ADS-B and TCAS.
Navigation systems on board UAVs should fuse ADS-B and TCAS technology
to automatically discern potentially routing conflicts and adhere to
established general aviation procedures and maneuvers to de-conflict the
situation. In the situation of manually
piloting the UAV to avoid oncoming aircrafts based on TCAS symbology may be
troublesome to say the least and may cause certain human factors concerns. The reinforcement of proper right-of-way
flight procedures may provide the solution in most local line-of-sight flights.
Implications of UAS lost-link in NAS
The loss of communications between the unmanned air vehicle
and the operator presents a great concern in the context of UAS integration
into the NAS. One of the main priorities
that should occur is the immediate identification of a UAS lost-link scenario
to all stakeholders such as the air traffic controllers/UAS Service Supplier and nearby general
aviation traffic (low altitude or high altitude). This should be achieved via dissemination via
beacon codes on its transponder. This at
least will allow others (who are within control of their manned or unmanned
vehicles) to actively avoid and exercise caution to a nearby “rogue” UAS. Of course the design of UAS in general should
have backup communications such as leveraging 4G or soon-to-be 5G technology to
come online should traditional RF datalinks fail. There should also be an inherent failsafe
such as ‘fly-home’ features once lost-link conditions are met. The complement
to this would be for air traffic controllers to be able to reach out directly
to the human operator to understand their intent and extract any other
information that may be helpful that did they not include with their filed
flight plan. In terms of human factors
concerns, if it was a line-of-sight flight, then visual monitoring would be
able to be attained by the human operator.
However, if it was BLOS operations, then they may be able to only relay
information of their last known position to air traffic control. Contingency protocols should be followed to
ensure rapid and effective communications are made to local authorities to help
issue caution to those that may be nearby.
This may also help set up or quarantine specific areas in anticipation
of the worst case scenario such as a crash landing.
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| UAS Service Supplier to oversee and notify of constraints/instructions |
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