Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PJ34-W3 AURA (PJ34-W3 AURA “ATM U-SPACE INTERFACE”)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31
The global objective of AURA is to lay the foundations for the integration of the new entrants in current and future air traffic environment, developing the required concept of operations and validating U-space services information exchanges with ATM systems.
It will contribute to enable the development of U-space in the Very Low Level (VLL) markets, allowing the introduction of new actors in a safe, harmonized, sustainable and efficient way and compatible with current ATM environment.
In order to achieve this objective, all relevant stakeholders (drone operators, U-space service providers, data services providers, ATM providers and authorities) will be included during the project development and throughout its lifetime. AURA project will define, develop and validate the exchange of U-space information with ATM with the aim to standardize the way U-space and ATM communicate. It will also define a novel Collaborative ATM-U-space Concept of Operations for high volumes of manned and unmanned traffic operating safely and concurrently in the same airspace into a fully collaborative environment with ATM that go beyond the existing concepts developed for U-space.
AURA will also have an impact on the expected economic potential of the drone market. The further development of U-space services concept of operations will also contribute to the rapid deployment of U-space roadmap in Europe.
The new drone applications will have a direct impact in society that will obtain direct benefit from the new services provided by UAVs like the use of drones for search and rescue missions or transport of medicines or blood preservation. This direct impact will grow in the future with the use of drones for applications as delivery or urban air mobility.
All this will be possible due to the project will facilitate seamless operations of drones and maned aviation in controlled airspace, increasing interoperability and airspace capacity in a safe manner.
It will contribute to enable the development of U-space in the Very Low Level (VLL) markets, allowing the introduction of new actors in a safe, harmonized, sustainable and efficient way and compatible with current ATM environment.
In order to achieve this objective, all relevant stakeholders (drone operators, U-space service providers, data services providers, ATM providers and authorities) will be included during the project development and throughout its lifetime. AURA project will define, develop and validate the exchange of U-space information with ATM with the aim to standardize the way U-space and ATM communicate. It will also define a novel Collaborative ATM-U-space Concept of Operations for high volumes of manned and unmanned traffic operating safely and concurrently in the same airspace into a fully collaborative environment with ATM that go beyond the existing concepts developed for U-space.
AURA will also have an impact on the expected economic potential of the drone market. The further development of U-space services concept of operations will also contribute to the rapid deployment of U-space roadmap in Europe.
The new drone applications will have a direct impact in society that will obtain direct benefit from the new services provided by UAVs like the use of drones for search and rescue missions or transport of medicines or blood preservation. This direct impact will grow in the future with the use of drones for applications as delivery or urban air mobility.
All this will be possible due to the project will facilitate seamless operations of drones and maned aviation in controlled airspace, increasing interoperability and airspace capacity in a safe manner.
For the Collaborative U-space-ATM interface, AURA project has developed the definition of the different services and technical requirements, producing the Initial TS/IRS and SDD based in the operational concept. The Validation Plan has been also produced including Human Performance, Safety and Security assessment plans. Developments of the different prototypes have been finalized, addressing the different integrations and tests. In this way, most of the planned exercises have been already addressed successfully.
For “Highly-automated collaborative U-space-ATM environment” solution has developed an initial operation concept and produced its validation plan including its corresponding parts regarding Human Performance and Safety activities. The same goes with the Initial OSED and the Availability Notes for all the exercises. In addition, all Validation Exercises were performed successfully. A first version of VALR document was also generated.
For “Highly-automated collaborative U-space-ATM environment” solution has developed an initial operation concept and produced its validation plan including its corresponding parts regarding Human Performance and Safety activities. The same goes with the Initial OSED and the Availability Notes for all the exercises. In addition, all Validation Exercises were performed successfully. A first version of VALR document was also generated.
AURA project will facility the integration of unmanaged aviation in very low-level airspace and their integration with maned aviation through common operating methods and interfaces. This will be one of the cornerstone to support the use of drones in the different areas of applications, allowing their proliferation in different services like security, surveillance, agriculture and urban air mobility in a safe and reliable way.