NASA has made an air traffic control system for drones
1 min read
Summary
A drone flight management system designed by the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) could ease congestion in the skies by allowing drone operators to share their intended flight paths.
Known as unmanned-aircraft-system traffic management (UTM), it uses algorithms to plan a drone’s route while taking into account the presence of other aircraft and adverse weather conditions.
If two drones are due to fly through the same section of airspace at the same time, the system will alert operators and suggest an alternative route.
In tests approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), NASA and several drone delivery companies are currently flying drones in the same skies above Dallas, marking the first time such a co-ordinated flight has been achieved in the US.
Increased adoption of the UTM system could be on the horizon if the FAA goes ahead with plans to allow operators to fly beyond visual line of sight if they have some UTM capability.