The Airspace Design service is a conceptual solution to design an airspace structure in an urban area. The airspace could use tubes or free route, but the traffic could also be organised another way. The concept is based on a methodology that identifies different operational and environmental constraints such as for instance wind and turbulence in specific urban areas or the type of UAV’s operations (VLOS or BVLOS). A specific micro-weather AI-based model on wind and turbulence has been developed to define areas of high wind and turbulence intensity that could lead to define restricted areas for UAS.
The proposed Airspace Design tool is an AI-driven tool that will automate the activation of airspace structures (restricted areas and tubes); thus, allowing drones to operate in urban airspace. The structures can be activated or deactivated (meaning that UAV’s operations could be allowed or not) depending on the operational needs for a given day and the reduction of UAS operations noise impact.
Vertiport location and separation minima between structures have been studied, based on the type of the UAVs and the nature of their operations. For instance, the solution could consider a tube (to connect vertiports in case of a UAM traffic) and different volumes for zones of surveillance operation, for transit above the city and for VLOS operation close to the ground (leisure or inspection, etc.). Each volume would organize the traffic differently (e.g., with layers or free route).
This solution is a methodology to support local authorities and U-space stakeholders in designing an airspace by defining and activating structures to facilitate several types of UAS operations in an urban environment while considering safety aspects (e.g., weather) and social impact (e.g., noise).
Validation scenario:
The solution scenario takes place in the city of Prague. Based on the already filled U-plans, the airspace design tool proposes adapted airspace structures to operations that are supposed to be performed that day. Structures will have been defined beforehand, and the model will propose activation of the appropriate ones.
The airspace design concept has identified areas such as no drone zone, restricted airspace, nature reserves and other noise-sensitive areas or environmentally sensitive areas and forbidden areas. It also integrates data coming from the AI-based wind and turbulence model to create, if necessary, micro-weather dangerous or restricted areas.
UAS operators use micro-weather data and the airspace design proposed by the airspace design tool to create and modify, if necessary, details of their operations (e.g., 4D trajectories, cancel operation).
The concept has been tested with two operational scenarios (in FTS): 15 drones and 50 drones.
KPAs: Safety (SAF), Capacity (CAP), Environment (ENV)
15 drones trajectories over Prague in a full-tubes scenario (with the restricted area above the city center)
Trajectories of 15 drones in Prague with the computed airspace design (activation of restricted areas)
Noise hotspots generated by the computed airspace design (activation of restricted areas but no corridors)
Contact info
Yannick SEPREY, Sopra Steria, yannick.seprey@soprasteria.com