UAM, UTM, and NextGen

This week’s module looked at the integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) have embarked on collaborative programs and work with industry to achieve program goals. One of the projects which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have been collaborating with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) on is the Next Generation (NextGen) Air Transportation System, developed to modernize with the cooperation from industry, the National Airspace System (NAS).  The effort was initiated in 2003 and is aimed at improving the efficiency, safety and capacity of the air transportation system in the United States (U.S). The goals and missions of NextGen are divided into short-term, medium-term and long-term and focus on different components of technology. However, although some of the components are vital to the integration of UAS into the NAS, the NextGen program goals and missions were not designed with the integration of UAS into the NAS in focus.

NASA and the FAA have embarked on an additional program that focuses on the integration of UAS into NAS which includes the UAS Traffic Management (UTM) project. UTM is a separate traffic management system for UAS that is being developed to complement the existing air traffic management (ATM) system. The UTM system is aimed at managing the flight of drones in low-altitude airspace safely and efficiently alongside other airspace users that are under control of ATM and UTM. For this to be achieved, technologies for detect, sense and avoid (DSA) are also being researched. For DSA, enabling technologies such as ADS-B which fall under the scope of the NextGen program will also need to mature. Issues such as the loss of control and/or communication link also need to be resolved and contingency measures must be established to ensure safe UAS operations. ADS-B can be used in the situation where the control and/or communication link has been lost so that the UAV can still be tracked and monitored. The use of automation to control the UAS in UTM also reduces the potential for human error given that the situation is that the pilot/ operator is not physically on-board the aircraft and does not have the advantage of using first hand sensory cues to aid decision making. Another major challenge that comes with the integration of UAS into the NAS is certification and regulation of the UAVs. Certification needs to be performed against standards and regulation which are still in the early development stages for UAVs. 

Urban air mobility (UAM) refers to urban transportation initiatives using electric propulsion aircraft, to provide services such as delivery and air taxi. These systems require some level of automation and DSA technology. UAM initiatives are largely dependent on NextGen, UTM and the integration of UAS into the NAS. Some of the issues related to UAM include the concerns regarding privacy for the resident in suburbs over which the aircraft will fly, visual and noise pollution, and the attitudes and perceptions of the general public regarding UAS. While UTM for the integration of UAS into the NAS is an exciting new prospect in the aviation industry, it will take time for the related challenges to be addressed.