OPERATIONAL SAFETY AND OPERATOR MANAGEMENT TO ENABLE THE USE OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS (UAS) AS GEOMATICS TOOLS

Abstract

Potential civil applications of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly known as drones, have risen steeply duringthe last decade, mainly due to their versatility and capability of spatial data gathering. Nonetheless, real use of UAS isquite restricted nowadays, primarily due to safety and regulatory constraints. This multidisciplinary project aims to performspecific safety assessments using the SORA methodology adopted by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) anddevelop documentation and procedures for operators to follow, complying with all required safety and regulatoryrequirements. As a result, DEURPAS-UPV is the first Spanish drone operator belonging to a university to be authorizedby Spanish civil aviation agency (AESA-Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea), to perform drone flights in urban areas, incontrolled airspace and during the night. In addition, DEURPAS-UPV has performed the first authorized experimentaltransport operations using drones in Spain. The results from safety assessment and designed procedures have beensuccessfully applied to the operation of Safety and Emergency service providers, such as Valencia Local Police Corps andthe Valencian Emergency and Safety Response Agency (AVSRE - Agencia Valenciana de Seguridad y Respuesta a lasEmergencias). Overall, this project has served as an enabler for more complex and safer UAS operations, from theoperator’s point of view, which will help break the barriers related to the use of these aircraft, with huge potential ingeomatics applications.