Civil Drones: Leonardo’s new system for secure air traffic management

The new system manages remotely-piloted airborne vehicles in ‘U-Space’, up to 150 metres above ground
Leonardo is ready to deploy its automated system for Unmanned-aircraft air- Traffic Management. Using new technologies, the system is able to efficiently and safely manage unmanned civil airborne traffic in very low-level urban airspace, up to 150 metres above the ground.

The new system, the latest in a number of innovations Leonardo will showcase at the World ATM Congress 2017 (7th-9th March, Madrid), is effective even beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), an example of Leonardo’s value proposition for unmanned air vehicle operators.

Building on the company’s extensive experience in the implementation of Air Traffic Management (ATM) systems and the design, development, production and operation of remotely-piloted unmanned aerial systems (RPAS), Leonardo’s solution is the answer to today’s air traffic control requirements. The new system ensures the security and safety of unmanned operations, which are becoming increasingly prevalent in civil applications such as territorial security, infrastructure and environment monitoring also in case of natural disaster, remote sensing, search and rescue operations aerial photography and video recording. 

Services can be accessed through standard web browsers or via an app for different kinds of devices via cloud service
The system services are web-based and remotely accessible through standard web browsers and from two different external applications, one for mobile devices using iOS and one for multi-platform desktops. 

The system marries Leonardo’s expertise in air traffic management with its experience providing unmanned aerial systems to customers worldwide
It works with unmanned cooperative vehicles equipped with self-identification, self-positioning and communication facilities that transmit their positional data and equipment status to the platform. During missions, the platform connects with pilots and unmanned aircraft through the LTE mobile network using “machine-to-machine” devices and services via an app on smartphone or tablet. Designed as a “Platform as a Service” and provided as a scalable cloud platform, the system can also offer a range of service applications for the benefit of various different stakeholders of the civil air space. These can include a public register of drones, route and mission planning for low level urban space unmanned aircraft, ground-based safety nets and contingency management.

Leonardo has also developed a simulation environment, which can integrate remotely-piloted aircraft system operations into Air Traffic Management (ATM) scenarios.