Strat Aero plc, the AIM listed international aerospace company focused on the rapidly emerging Unmanned Aerial Vehicle sector, has told DirectorsTalk this morning that its affiliate, Emerging Technology Ventures Inc. (‘ETV’), a US group which specialises in bringing together and developing integrated technology solutions for both military and civilian unmanned system market sectors, has agreed to become a member of NASA’s research collaborative for the Unmanned Aerial Systems Traffic Management (‘UTM’) programme. ETV, along with its Autonomous and Unmanned System Cluster (‘AUSC’) partners, which Strat Aero is an affiliate member of (see announcement of 9 November 2015), will work with NASA as part of the UTM programme to develop an air traffic control system for low altitude UAS operations in the US.
The UTM programme engages industry, academia, and government in developing an air traffic control system to safely enable UAS operations in low altitude airspace across the US. This is one of the most significant limiting factors for the growth of the UAS industry in the commercial sector, including key Strat Aero inspection services for wind farms, cell towers, bridges and dams, as well as precision agriculture.
NASA and its collaborative team will test the algorithms and UTM capabilities to safely enable low altitude operations and operational requirements for wind/weather integration, airspace design/geo-fencing, sense-and-avoid/separation management, demand/capacity imbalance management, contingency management, and enabling requirements such as communications, navigation, and surveillance. During the UTM’s development, NASA will collaborate closely with the Federal Aviation Administration. NASA’s short term goal is to safely enable initial low-altitude UAS operations as early as possible while a long term solution to accommodate increased demand with highest safety, efficiency, and capacity is developed and deployed.
Tony Dunleavy, CEO Strat Aero, said, “Congratulations are due to Cliff Hudson and his ETV team for obtaining this important invitation to join the NASA working group, ensuring that the Strat Aero group are at the leading edge of worldwide UAS regulation development. This further deepens our ability and credibility to offer compelling full UAV solutions to large international businesses, as laid out in our strategic plan.”
Cliff Hudson, CEO of ETV, said, “This represents another key step in our long term strategy for integrating unmanned systems across the spectrum of commercial operations including inspection, precision agriculture, and environmental management. As we develop solutions for Command and Control and Mission Planning for collaborative unmanned systems, our participation in the NASA led collaborative will ensure alignment with emerging governmental standards and protocols in USA.”
