NASA to Test Drone UTM in Nevada and Texas
NASA has selected two organizations to host the final phase of its four-year series of increasingly complicated technical demonstrations involving small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones.
The Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems in Las Vegas and the Lone Star UAS Center for Excellence & Innovation in Corpus Christi, Texas, will host demonstrations to confirm NASA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system can safely and effectively manage drone traffic in an urban area.
The drone flights will take place in and around downtown Reno, Nevada between March and June, and Corpus Christi during July and August.
UTM project
With these demonstrations, NASA and its partners including the Federal Aviation Administration, aim to help the commercial drone industry understand the challenges posed by flying in an urban environment. Results of the flight demonstrations also will help inform future rules, policies and traffic management procedures for operating drones safely over populated areas.
Key technologies to be demonstrated include: airspace regulator Flight Information Management System, the UAS Service Supplier interface for multiple independent UAS traffic management service providers, and their interface with vehicle integrated detect-and-avoid capabilities, vehicle-to-vehicle communication and collision avoidance, and automated safe landing technologies.
Mike Sanders, acting executive director of the Texas organization, added, “This series of tests is a critical step in enabling the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems within an urban environment.”
The UTM project is part of the Airspace Operations and Safety Program in NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate.
Source: Press Release
