Automation Again
Welcome to the CHIRP Drone FEEDBACK Edition 13. Well, as I write it has been another busy week on the regulatory front for the drone community. UK SORA has now been published with a timetable for implementation which has a key date of 23rd April, details on SAIL marking and the much-anticipated details on Pilot Competency. In addition, Ofcom (jointly with the CAA) has announced their approval for the use under licence of 978 MHz for airborne transmission onboard UAS. This will undoubtedly be an enabler for BVLOS flight. The DSCO online applications and renewals for Specific Category Operations excluding PDRA01s, is now pencilled in for Q2 of 2025. Statistics from the regulator indicate that the number of flyers continues to increase, so we can be sure there are a growing number of drones in the air. Curiously though, it looks as if the number of Open Category Operators is increasing at the expense of Specific Category Operators. Is the future brighter for lighter drones?!
A trend we continue to see is an increasing level of automation being incorporated into some of the flight /mission planning software, and this at an ever-faster pace. Blink and you have missed it! Image recognition is now being incorporated into what you can see in your control unit as standard, so you can count the number of people, cars or even boats that are in view. A recipe for distraction? How active See and Avoid technology will be incorporated into what is a relatively small handheld control unit really does remain to be seen.
Every one of these developments bring different human / computer interface risks along to the party. Each of them has a unique Human Factor related challenge that we are only beginning to identify.
Drone pilots – please do continue to report to Human Factor safety incidents to CHIRP. Many thanks to those who have done so.
Let’s look at another selection of good examples set out below:
- DUAS xx23–Software Coding?
- DUAS 0033–Drone Assist
- DUAS xx24–Vision Systems
- DUAS xx25–Fatigue and Stress
Rupert Dent
Drone / UAS Programme Manager
April 2025