Development of a Framework for Comparing Low-Altitude Unmanned Air Traffic Management Systems

Tuesday 22 November 2022, Amsterdam

Credits: NASA/Dominic Hart

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There is a high demand for urban air mobility services such as package delivery and air taxi. It would result in extremely dense low-altitude operations that the current air traffic management system could not safely accommodate. Many different architectures for low-altitude air traffic management have been proposed in the literature; however, the lack of a common framework makes comparing strategies difficult. The work presented here establishes efficiency, safety, and capacity metrics, defines the components of an automated traffic management system architecture, and introduces a preliminary framework for comparing different alternatives. Its common framework enables the evaluation and comparison of various alternatives for unmanned traffic management. The framework is demonstrated on various strategies and architectures.

How has COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) Market?
The novel coronavirus is already reorienting our lives, but crisis situations also present an opportunity for more sophisticated and flexible technology use. The global population is being affected by the epidemic, as the number of cases is rapidly increasing, and there is an urgent need to stop the virus from spreading. The outbreak has created a huge demand for digital health solutions, and drones and robots provide an excellent method for automating manual tasks.

Drones and robots can be used to provide services to patients and those who have been quarantined, and they are the most desirable and safe way to combat the outbreak and limit virus contamination and spread. Drones and robots are used in various AI and IoT solutions, such as social distancing and sanitization. Furthermore, an analysis of the total number of cases and deaths worldwide has been conducted, as well as how it has affected humanity and what measures have been taken to control this deadly disease.

Delivery Packages Will Be Delivered by Drones
Delivery drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, are pilotless aircraft that transport packages to a specified location. To generate thrust, these flying robots typically have 4 to 8 propellers and rechargeable Li-Po batteries. The delivery drones operate autonomously or remotely via a ground-control station. Drone operators can keep track of multiple flying bots at once. Road transportation has traditionally been the backbone of the logistics industry. However, as urban areas become more congested and it becomes increasingly difficult to reach remote areas with no road infrastructure, the disadvantages of traditional methods become more apparent. Drones are being used by the delivery industry to address these issues.

The Facts About Using Drones to Transport Laboratory Samples
The healthcare sector is being influenced by an increasing number of new technological solutions aimed at improving medical treatment and care offerings. These new technologies promise a wide range of possibilities for healthcare, but they also pose technical, functional, and operational challenges. Such emerging technologies may be enthusiastically welcomed by health professionals. Doctors eagerly implement new microsurgery robots, radiologists embrace the use of new and improved in-hospital three-dimensional printing, and surgeons implement new features and functionalities in mixed-reality applications. Clinical laboratories are one industry that has a long history of implementing automation and technical solutions. There are developments in point-of-care analyses (POC) that have the potential to revolutionise the sector, both by simplifying hospital analyses and by providing access to critical analyses in a home care setting for patient follow-ups. Unmanned aerial vehicles are a new technology that has the potential to disrupt laboratory services (UAVs, drones). Oslo University Hospital intends to build new hospital buildings by 2030 and sees drones as part of its future transportation logistics. Although the realistic potential and value of drone transport are unknown, it is well established that infrastructure for landing and take-off, as well as drone surveillance and loading structures, will be required for efficient and robust drone transport.