An Open Standard for UTM Integration - Hrishikesh Ballal, Co-Founder, Openskies Aerial Technology

Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) services are a set of digital services built to enable complex drone operations and exchange of data with manned aviation and other stakeholders. UTM services provide foundational technologies to drone operators that enable them conduct “advanced operations” for e.g. BVLOS flights while ensuring safety and scalable operations.

Across the world, Aviation authorities are developing regulations that will enable operators to conduct advanced operations at scale. At the same time, new software interfaces and standards are being developed at Aviation standards development organizations (e.g. ASTM, EuroCAE) to support UTM. These standards specify performance requirements and software interfaces for data exchange between stakeholders. In many cases, authorities recognize and accept these standards as a means of compliance in their rule-making process and documentation.

In this talk, you will get an introduction to the technical UTM standards and an overview of the current and upcoming regulations regarding UTM e.g. the EU U-Space regulation and other jurisdictions. In the case of the EU, to conduct BVLOS operations in certain airspaces, companies must engage with UTM Service providers (USSPs) to provide situational awareness and safety critical information. You will learn how the USSP model works and how it may develop in other non-EU jurisdictions to enable complex operations.

Finally, you will be introduced to the QGCS UTM adapter working group and its technical scope. You will get an overview of how the adapter works and its development roadmap and how it can enable operators to flexibly integrate with UTM service providers. This session will help you understand the advances being made in QGCS to enable BVLOS and other operations that are compliant with the relevant regulations.