BVLOS - ARPAS UK

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BVLOS Sandbox Trials to make BVLOS an Everyday Reality

Six projects have been chosen for trials under a UK Civil Aviation Authority scheme that will help make beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights an everyday reality.

Among those included are schemes that involve medical drone deliveries, energy infrastructure, and ‘sky highways’.

The UK Civil Aviation Authority invited organisations to bid to participate in an innovation sandbox earlier this year to validate and test their concepts, supporting the development of BVLOS capabilities.

Projects involved include Apian London Health Bridge; Cranfield Airport and Project BLUEPRINT; Droneprep Open Skies Cornwall; HexCam; Skyports Project TRAject; and Snowdonia Aerospace Centre Project Dragons Eye.

Innovation sandboxes help organisations prepare for regulatory approval, and helps the regulator develop policies that better meet the needs of the industry in the future.

Sandboxes are controlled environments where organisations can test their innovative technologies against the existing regulatory framework, helping applicants maximise the readiness of their innovation, and also help the UK Civil Aviation Authority develop better, more efficient ways to develop new regulations.

These new trials will help develop plans for how drones can be safely integrated with other airspace users, as part of the regulator’s wider Airspace Modernisation Strategy.

The trials will consider a new policy concept that focuses on a specific type of airspace structure called a temporary reserved area (TRA) to enable the trialling of systems and approaches to safely enable drones to operate within the same airspace as other aircraft.

Prior to the new concept, drone operators wanting to fly BVLOS typically had to apply for a temporary danger area (TDA), which would effectively close a section of airspace for most other users for up to 90 days.

Sophie O’Sullivan, Head of Future Safety and Innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:

“Our innovation sandboxes play a pivotal role in our ongoing mission to develop efficient, forward-thinking regulations that will allow different types of aircraft to use the same airspace.

“The chosen projects encompass a range of critical applications, including medical deliveries and infrastructure surveying. They highlight the varying role that drones could play in the aviation ecosystem and the trials will provide invaluable insights into how we integrate drones safely with existing airspace users.”

ARPAS-UK would like to congratulate its members involved in these projects.

17 October 2023

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BVLOS Technical Special Interest Group Launch: 6 Sept 2023

ARPAS-UK is pleased to announce the launch of the BVLOS Technical Special Interest Group (BVLOS Tech SIG) on 6 September 2023. The launch event will be a workshop with a focus on Risk Quantification for BVLOS Operations.

Date & Time: 6 September 2023. 10am – 4pm
Location: Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel, Bath Road, Hounslow, England, TW6 2AQ
This event is exclusively for ARPAS-UK Members. If you are not a member but are interested in knowing more, please register and we will contact you.

Register

Speakers:

Dr Owen McAree has an extensive and impressive background in BVLOS Operations, research, safety assurance and is a technical consultant specialising in all aspects of advanced drone technology including novel aeromechanical design, sensor systems, autopilot systems, software systems, computer vision systems and autonomous operations.

Aleks Kowalski is an ARPAS-UK Director, co-founded and ran an RAE, as well as being involved with the UKRI Future Flight Challenge. Furthermore, Aleks sits on several UAS related Committees, including the NATS BVLOS Forum and the Shared Airspace Council. Having seen the influence an effective trade association can have at government level, Aleks looks at the longer-term strategic importance for ARPAS-UK in bring together all UAS pilots, large and small, the ecosystems around them – whilst highlighting the value of education to make drones a career path – not just a part-time opportunity for the majority of those going through their training.

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Protected: NPAS & BVLOS Tender

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uAvionix and the Choctaw Nation Commence First-Ever FCC-Authorized Operational C-Band BVLOS Operations

uAvionix, a leading provider of command, navigation, and surveillance technologies for crewed and uncrewed aircraft, announced today that it has received FCC (Federal Communications Commission) approval, coordinated with the FAA, to operate its SkyLink C-Band Command and Control (C2) radios for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations at the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma Emerging Technology test site.

The radios operating on aviation-protected C-band frequencies will be controlled by uAvionix’s SkyLine cloud-based C2 network solution that combines fleet management, network health monitoring, detect & avoid, and seamless make-before-break roaming between multiple radio networks and ground stations. With the approval and previous uAvionix BVLOS Waiver, businesses seeking to use aviation-protected C-band and other radio networks, such as LTE, for assured Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) can successfully develop, test and implement solutions for scalable business initiatives such as package delivery and medical resupply.

Ryan Reed, General Manager, uAvionix said

“In a short period of time – measured in months – uAvionix has achieved multiple BVLOS waivers and FCC approval for operation of C-band radios for critical command and control function. Our continued success is a testament to the strength of our efforts with the Choctaw Nation and speaks volumes about our aviation-grade products and services. The SkyLine cloud-based network control and associated SkyLink and SkyStation radios are the first certifiable C2 network purpose built for BVLOS operations.”

uAvionix first obtained FAA approval to test its C-band C2 radios for compliance with RTCA DO-362A and an eventual TSO-C213a in Bigfork, Montana, and then at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS) in August 2021. C2 radio design assurance is critical to meeting the criteria needed to manage risk during BVLOS operations and to meet the safety case requirements. The successful FCC approval for use of the SkyLink C-band radios at the Choctaw Nation significantly advances riskier BVLOS operations by enabling essential C2 infrastructure to operate on aviation-protected spectrum along-side other frequencies such as LTE and Satcom to deliver reliable command and control capabilities. Utilizing the protected spectrum guards against interference or tampering and enables a consistent, assured connection to the aircraft that meets safety requirements.

The SkyLink Airborne Radios, SkyStation Ground Radios and SkyLine cloud-based link management system are deployed at the Choctaw Nation’s 44,500+ acre Emerging Aviation Technology Center. Four (4) independent C-band radios are networked together through SkyLine. The system continually monitors each link to optimally determine the best link for reliable command and control and ensure make-before-break connections when switching between each available ground station. Additionally, Detect and Avoid (DAA) data from terrestrial sensors is delivered through the C-band radios.

James Grimsley, Executive Director of Advanced Technology Initiatives with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma:

“uAvionix is a phenomenal commercial partner in our Choctaw Nation emerging aviation activities, and we are always impressed by their pace of innovation. This latest FCC approval is a critical step for the industry as we move toward ubiquitous BVLOS operations, and will not only support our Choctaw Nation efforts, but also the industry at large.”

Interested businesses attempting to scale BVLOS operations should contact the Choctaw Nation and uAvionix to support implementation and scaling of uncrewed aerial system (UAS) operations with multiple C2 links including aviation protected C-band.

uAvionix is a Member of ARPAS-UK

19 June 2023

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Is Detect and Avoid Possible Without Weighing Down Drones with Expensive Sensors? WATCH AGAIN

True Beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) will take off when technologies that make this possible come at an acceptable size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C). The toughest technological challenge on the way to UAV autonomy is last resort tactical airspace deconfliction by means of onboard sensing, also known as Detect and Avoid (DAA). Join us to discuss safety goal posts, what can be achieved with different sensors and data processing techniques, and whether we can meet the industry needs for SWAP-C and chart a course towards certification.

Speaker Info:

Vidhya Sridhar, Head of Autonomous Technology, TTP

Vidhya leads the autonomous technologies market team at TTP working on exciting technology enablers for safe and secure autonomy on the ground, in the air and in space. She has been deeply involved in the UAV and space sustainability sectors, and has engaged with various stakeholders to assess communication and safety subsystem offerings. Vidhya is an engineer with a background in digital signal processing and communications.

TTP-Ready-to-take-off-detect-avoid-autonomous-UAV-whitepaper-102022 Download

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sees.ai secures UK-first routine BVLOS permission to carry out aerial inspection of live overhead powerline assets

Boeing-backed autonomous flight technology developer, sees.ai, becomes the first company in the UK to secure routine permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) in non-segregated airspace, on the high voltage electricity transmission network.

This permission builds on the BVLOS permission that sees.ai received in April 2021 which allowed the company to remotely operate drones in non-segregated airspace over industrial sites. This new permission now allows routine BVLOS flights on two specific runs of National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) live overhead power lines – an interim step that will allow sees.ai to demonstrate the safety of extending this permission to NGET’s critical national infrastructure.

*sees.ai live electricity transmission network*

This permission means sees.ai is now one of only a handful of companies worldwide with routine permission to inspect the grid from BVLOS; and perhaps the only company worldwide capable of enabling close inspection, the most valuable inspection regime. sees.ai’s core tech enables drones to be flown meters from steelwork and components from BVLOS to capture a structured, internally georeferenced data set of 2D images and 3D models optimised for automated analysis using AI.

This permission achieves an important milestone in the development of an end-to-end automated inspection analysis and reporting solution for electricity grids – a project that sees.ai and NGET’s data analysis supplier, Keen AI, have been working on with NGET since mid 2021. The aim of this project is to enable NGETs in-house team to carry out close aerial inspection of overhead lines from BVLOS using sees.ai’s core tech; and then to use Keen AI’s software for condition assessment, defect resolution and reporting. This project will enable NGET (and other grid operators in time) to more efficiently and effectively determine asset conditions and develop optimal maintenance plans.

In order to ensure the safe development and deployment of their core tech, sees.ai has been working closely with the CAA Regulatory Sandbox team since 2019. Recently the company has made progress towards licensing their core-tech via this project with National Grid and a second with Marshall Futureworx; and via two UK Government Future Flight Challenge projects, in which sees.ai led consortia that included partners National Grid, BT and Network Rail.

John McKenna, CEO of sees.ai said:

“Securing permission to carry out BVLOS drone inspections of the live electricity grid is a major step forward towards our goal of enabling safe operation of drone fleets at national scale. We’re immensely proud that National Grid and the CAA trust us to deploy safely on critical infrastructure and we believe that this permission will pave the way for future advancements in the use of drones for survey and inspection of critical national infrastructure, and beyond into aerial logistics and mobility.”

Sophie O’Sullivan, Head of Future Safety and Innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:

‘Everyday flying of drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of their operator in the UK will be a significant step forwards in unlocking the full potential of drone technology. This progress in safely incorporating drones into the airspace so they can inspect infrastructure in this way is a key achievement and a major part of our work to support UK innovation.’

Mark Simmons, Condition Monitoring Manager at National Grid Electricity Transmission said:

‘This is a fantastic achievement for sees.ai and an important step in enabling National Grid to

fully exploit the potential of drone technology for network inspections. As we work towards our

net zero goals, embracing technologies like these will enable us to deliver an energy future that

is clean, fair, and affordable for all.’

6 June 2023

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Cyberhawk™ team up with Intelligent Energy to launch BVLOS operations using hydrogen fuel cell technology

Cyberhawk, world leader in visual data management, adopts Intelligent Energy’s IE-SOAR™ fuel cells to offer customers better quality data and increased operational efficiency.

Cyberhawk delivers end-to-end capabilities to their customers around the globe spanning data collection, democratisation of imagery and operational insights via analytics. Over 5,000 project managers around the globe rely on their flagship software solution, iHawk™, to address their asset and risk management business requirements every day. Cyberhawk has successfully completed over 125,000 drone flights, achieved more than 35 world firsts and are operational worldwide in over 40 countries.

IE-SOAR™ is Intelligent Energy’s range of lightweight hydrogen fuel cell modules for fixed wing, rotary wing and VTOL applications, and enables UAVs to fly further, for longer, and to achieve more. The modules are increasing operational efficiency and unlocking previously impossible applications with businesses no longer constrained by flight time.
The two companies will be exhibiting together at AUVSI Xponential 2023 in Denver in May.

Stuart McGlynn, Senior Vice President Aviation Operations for Cyberhawk states: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Intelligent Energy and we are excited to be co-exhibiting with them to showcase our thought leadership at Xponential.
The innovations that we are working on will benefit our customers and our industry by increasing safety, enabling better stewardship of the environment and delivering cost-effective approaches to BVLOS operations.”

Jonathan Douglas-Smith, Business Development Manager said: “We are delighted to be partnering with industry leading service provider, Cyberhawk and to be co-exhibiting at Xponential this year. This is a great opportunity to not only showcase our fuel cells for UAVs, but to also see how the company are exploiting the technology for their BVLOS data collection missions. See you there!”

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Invitation to join the CAA’s BVLOS sandbox trial, by 23 May 2023

See CAA’s publication on:

New airspace policy concept describes a way to deliver the Airspace Modernisation Strategy’s vision of integrating beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) remotely piloted aircraft (RPAS) into airspace.
Invitation to RPAS operators with experience of BVLOS trial flying to trial the concept through our regulatory sandbox.

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Lessons learnt by Airborne Robotics on BVLOS operations in Austria

Alexander Fraess-Ehrfeld, CEO at Airborne Robotics, walked us through the approval process on a practical flight operation to deliver a defibrillator, following the SORA methodology.

And the presentation:

Airborne-Robotics-BVLOS Download

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Key industry players forming the BVLOS Forum, led by NATS and including ARPAS-UK, call on government to unlock the next generation of aviation

The UK’s leading drone operators have called on the Government to change the way uncrewed aviation is regulated, and break down the barriers to uncrewed flight that risk the UK missing out on the ‘drone opportunity’.

The comments come in a new White Paper published by the BVLOS Operations Forum, a consortium of advanced drone and technology companies that are pioneering the use of remotely piloted aircraft ‘beyond visual line of sight’ (BVLOS).

‘South of the Clouds: A roadmap to the next generation of uncrewed aviation’, sets out the industry’s vision of how new types of aircraft, like drones, can be integrated into the UK’s busy skies, and what steps the Government needs to take to make it happen.

Organisations in the Forum are already using drones to deliver cancer treatments and vital medical supplies to patients in remote areas; in search & rescue operations by HM Coastguard; and for conducting infrastructure inspections and monitoring in a more sustainable, safer way. But because Government regulations have evolved more slowly than the technologies in this sector, these types of remotely piloted flights are limited to very restricted areas of airspace, making regular commercial services difficult to deliver. ‘South of the Clouds’ presents a collective industry view of how policymakers could address that problem.

“This White Paper has been co-created by the Forum to outline the imperative of uncrewed flight”, said Russell Porter, Chair of the BVLOS Operations Forum and Head of UTM Programmes at air traffic services company NATS.

“The way forward to achieving routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations, integrated with other air traffic, will require significant policy change from both the Government and the Civil Aviation Authority.

“While there have been positive developments, not least in the Future Flight Challenge and the recently published Airspace Modernisation Strategy, this fast-growing sector is adamant we need to go further, faster, if we are to make uncrewed aircraft a safe and effective option in the aeronautical toolbox.”

Among the policy recommendations is a call for all aircraft to be equipped with ‘electronic conspicuity’ technology to show their location – without this, drones would effectively be flying blind to what’s around them – as well as reform of the regulatory system to enable remotely piloted flights in more areas of airspace, rather than restricted or temporary environments.

Also proposed is a roadmap that sets out a vision for how airspace could be managed for uncrewed aircraft in the future, and the steps required to get there, so that those in the industry can plan and invest accordingly.

“With reduced emissions, reduced cost, and improved safety, uncrewed aircraft can achieve extraordinary things that everyone, in all parts of the UK, will benefit from, and BVLOS is key to unlocking that full potential,” said Russell Porter.

“The next generation of aviation is coming, and now is the time to act to make it a reality.”

To read ‘South of the Clouds: A roadmap to the next generation of uncrewed aviation’, visit: https://www.nats.aero/sotc

27 February 2023