Addressing the low-altitude airspace integration challenge — USS or UTM core?

Abstract

Advancements in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology are invigorating the aviation industry. Integrating these platforms into low-altitude airspace globally is challenging the conventional, safety-first culture of the aviation community. Ideas ranging from segregated airspace to integrating unmanned systems alongside manned aviation within national airspace systems have emerged. This paper will examine the many challenges and approaches to ensure the world's airspace systems can maintain exceptional levels of safety while accommodating and balancing the wave of aviation advancements that will disrupt low-altitude operations in both controlled and uncontrolled airspace. Globally, air navigation service providers (ANSPs) and civil aviation authorities (CAAs) generally agree that new, commercially viable approaches must be developed to promote the use of unmanned systems while ensuring the safety of the existing airspace structure. Safety has always driven advancements in aviation and must continue to do so in the new era of unmanned platforms. UAS Traffic Management (UTM) for low-altitude airspace reinforces this need and provides a path forward for safe integration of all vehicles. The unique nature of the UAS operating environment puts UTM in the position of balancing the safety-critical responsibilities associated with low-altitude airspace management with the commercial obligations connected to interfacing with UAS operators. One model being examined in the United States today is being driven from an operator perspective, or UAS Service Suppliers (USS). The USS function delivers both mission planning for UAS operators as well as serving as distributed airspace managers through some as-yet-defined peer-to-peer coordination process. This is referred to as the operator driven model. With no single USS being the authoritative system, the current concept relies on USS to USS communication and collaboration to share position information and mission planning elements to reduce the risks of conflicts in the airspace. This approach, if widely accepted beyond the research and development phase, could usher in a major shift in airspace integration and management philosophy. Longer-term, this could be a shift from ANSPs being the responsible authority for low-altitude airspace and allocating it to third-party commercial providers. The concept of an operator centric airspace management model is a major technological and philosophical shift from today's aviation industry approach and deserves close examination and consideration. An alternative approach proposed in this paper introduces the concept of a UTM Core platform to alleviate these challenges by allocating the safety-critical, airspace management functions from the collection of USSs to a centralized function. The UTM Core concept will reduce the need for excessive coordination and provide a centralized source for information exchange among all relevant stakeholders. It will address the challenges brought on by inter-USS communication and the collaborative structure the USS centric approach is built upon. As a result, the UTM Core will promote the innovation of new USS entrants by providing the airspace domain expertise required for maintaining the safety of the existing airspace structure. The UTM Core represents an intermediate approach in the progression of an emerging industry. It seeks to build off of the positive progress made towards large-scale UAS integration and introduce new solutions to the challenges it currently faces. This approach retains the possibility of competition for service provision, if desired, and the application of advanced automation to enable a dynamic and economically efficient solution. The UTM Core presents a reasonable path forward that should be considered to maintain the outstanding levels of safety that the aviation community enjoys and expects today.