Project description
Providing separation minima and methods to increase safety and efficiency in the U-Space
The EU-funded BUBBLES project aims at defining separation minima and methods to UAS flying in the VLL SES (below 150 m) to improve the overall performance and safety therein. It will develop algorithms to compute the collision probability between UAS using separation minima to keep it under acceptable levels. Moreover, the project will investigate how AI can contribute to dynamically managing these minima using different separation methods and agents (from centralised strategic deconfliction to distributed self-separation). BUBBLES will follow an operation centric, risk-based approach, assigning separation minima and methods depending on the UAS ConOps and the available U-Space services. BUBBLES will also extend the concept of Performance Based CNS to the UAS operations to draft safety and performance requirements.
Objective
BUBBLES is a project targeting the formulation and validation of a concept of a U-Space advanced (U3) ‘separation management service’ at TRL3. BUBBLES will develop algorithms to compute the collision risk of UAS (taking into account all the involved risk sources), allowing to define separation minima and methods (procedural, tactical self-separated or tactical ground-based) so that a safety level stated in terms of overall probability of collision can be defined and maintained. The project will apply these algorithms to a set of generic CONOPs for UAS Operations defined by BUBBLES. These CONOPs will be detailed enough to cover all envisaged applications, but generic enough not to be linked to any particular one. The generic CONOPs will be classified in terms of risk using the SORA methodology. Afterwards, separation minima and methods will be assigned to them, leading to the definition of a set of generic OSED from which safety and performance requirements for the CNS systems will be derived through a safety assessment and based on the Performance-based Navigation (PBN) and Performance-based Communication and Surveillance (PBCS) concepts, including performance monitoring. To contribute the use of highly automated and digitalised systems in the U-Space, BUBBLES will also investigate the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support the separation management, both for centralised and distributed systems. Moreover, BUBBLES will contribute to the standardisation of the U-Space by drafting required performance specifications for the CNS and AI-based systems involved in the provision of the Separation Management service. Lastly, the project will exploit the similarity between the U-Space Separation Management service and the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and the widespread confidence on the latter to improve the perception of safety regarding the UAS operations among the general public, thus contributing to their social acceptance.
Fields of science
Keywords
Programme(s)
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
RIA - Research and Innovation actionCoordinator
46022 Valencia
Spain