National Highways reaches for the skies with new flight management system
National Highways has launched a new flight management system which will speed up processes for drone operators looking to fly near motorways or major A roads and improve safety through better co-ordination and visibility of flights.
With the use of drones playing an increasing role in modern living, National Highways is introducing a new flight management system which will make it easier to plot use of the drones across the country.
The new system, which launched this week, will speed up the process for drone operators looking to fly near National Highways’ roads and improve safety through better co-ordination and visibility of flights.
It will also share information with such organisations as Network Rail, National Grid and other large companies who also use this system to help prevent conflict with any other flights taking place nearby.
Drone operators looking to fly near National Highways’ motorways and major A roads will be able to go online to enter details of their planned flight. They will then be able to see immediately if other flights and operations are planned in the area and when.
National Highways Drones Governance Hub Chair, Jason Glasson, said:
Drones are already used for monitoring construction projects as well as surveying and inspecting assets. Drones allow the industry to gather new and richer asset information while minimising risks to workers and road users. They also reduce disruption for drivers as few road closures are required for these activities. With usage increasing, we needed to develop a more joined-up approach to appropriately coordinate drone activities near our network. Our safety risk governance approach for all drone operations, supported by this new flight management system, will help us safely plan, coordinate and record our increasing drone operations while maintaining safety for our workforce and people living near to the road network.
Currently, drone operators from the supply chain and contractors have to contact National Highways to supply the necessary paperwork such as risk assessments and have their request accepted. They then notify National Highways ahead of any flights and the business carries out checks to ensure there are no conflicts.
In the last two years there have been over 1,000 notifications with the number of flights continually increasing.
Under the new system, developed by ARPAS-UK member DroneCloud, operators will be able to go online to record their flight details and discover within seconds whether that will cause conflict with other aircraft. In addition, there will now be details of flights booked with other organisations such as Network Rail.
The system works alongside a new Drones Standard, GG 954 Drones Operations. This replaces the existing policy and contains requirements over and above those defined by the regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority.
It also aligns with the company-wide GG 104 standard which will ensure that the use of drones is safer, or at least as safe as, the existing way of undertaking an activity whether that be, for example, surveying, construction or asset inspection.
Andrew Blogg, Co-Founder of DroneCloud, said:
Following the successful implantation of our platform for Network Rail, we have been working closely with National Highways in deploying the Dronecloud platform to manage and coordinate all drone flights over the 4500 miles of strategic road network. The new system, which launched this week, will speed up the process for any drone operators in the supply chain looking to fly near National Highways’ roads and improve safety through better co-ordination and visibility of flights.
8 June 2023
SAM IS ....
Is Detect and Avoid Possible Without Weighing Down Drones with Expensive Sensors? WATCH AGAIN
True Beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) will take off when technologies that make this possible come at an acceptable size, weight, power and cost (SWAP-C). The toughest technological challenge on the way to UAV autonomy is last resort tactical airspace deconfliction by means of onboard sensing, also known as Detect and Avoid (DAA). Join us to discuss safety goal posts, what can be achieved with different sensors and data processing techniques, and whether we can meet the industry needs for SWAP-C and chart a course towards certification.
Speaker Info:
Vidhya Sridhar, Head of Autonomous Technology, TTP
Vidhya leads the autonomous technologies market team at TTP working on exciting technology enablers for safe and secure autonomy on the ground, in the air and in space. She has been deeply involved in the UAV and space sustainability sectors, and has engaged with various stakeholders to assess communication and safety subsystem offerings. Vidhya is an engineer with a background in digital signal processing and communications.
sees.ai secures UK-first routine BVLOS permission to carry out aerial inspection of live overhead powerline assets
Boeing-backed autonomous flight technology developer, sees.ai, becomes the first company in the UK to secure routine permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to fly drones Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) in non-segregated airspace, on the high voltage electricity transmission network.
This permission builds on the BVLOS permission that sees.ai received in April 2021 which allowed the company to remotely operate drones in non-segregated airspace over industrial sites. This new permission now allows routine BVLOS flights on two specific runs of National Grid Electricity Transmission (NGET) live overhead power lines – an interim step that will allow sees.ai to demonstrate the safety of extending this permission to NGET’s critical national infrastructure.
sees.ai live electricity transmission network
This permission means sees.ai is now one of only a handful of companies worldwide with routine permission to inspect the grid from BVLOS; and perhaps the only company worldwide capable of enabling close inspection, the most valuable inspection regime. sees.ai’s core tech enables drones to be flown meters from steelwork and components from BVLOS to capture a structured, internally georeferenced data set of 2D images and 3D models optimised for automated analysis using AI.
This permission achieves an important milestone in the development of an end-to-end automated inspection analysis and reporting solution for electricity grids – a project that sees.ai and NGET’s data analysis supplier, Keen AI, have been working on with NGET since mid 2021. The aim of this project is to enable NGETs in-house team to carry out close aerial inspection of overhead lines from BVLOS using sees.ai’s core tech; and then to use Keen AI’s software for condition assessment, defect resolution and reporting. This project will enable NGET (and other grid operators in time) to more efficiently and effectively determine asset conditions and develop optimal maintenance plans.
In order to ensure the safe development and deployment of their core tech, sees.ai has been working closely with the CAA Regulatory Sandbox team since 2019. Recently the company has made progress towards licensing their core-tech via this project with National Grid and a second with Marshall Futureworx; and via two UK Government Future Flight Challenge projects, in which sees.ai led consortia that included partners National Grid, BT and Network Rail.
John McKenna, CEO of sees.ai said:
“Securing permission to carry out BVLOS drone inspections of the live electricity grid is a major step forward towards our goal of enabling safe operation of drone fleets at national scale. We’re immensely proud that National Grid and the CAA trust us to deploy safely on critical infrastructure and we believe that this permission will pave the way for future advancements in the use of drones for survey and inspection of critical national infrastructure, and beyond into aerial logistics and mobility.”
Sophie O’Sullivan, Head of Future Safety and Innovation at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:
‘Everyday flying of drones beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of their operator in the UK will be a significant step forwards in unlocking the full potential of drone technology. This progress in safely incorporating drones into the airspace so they can inspect infrastructure in this way is a key achievement and a major part of our work to support UK innovation.’
Mark Simmons, Condition Monitoring Manager at National Grid Electricity Transmission said:
‘This is a fantastic achievement for sees.ai and an important step in enabling National Grid to
fully exploit the potential of drone technology for network inspections. As we work towards our
net zero goals, embracing technologies like these will enable us to deliver an energy future that
is clean, fair, and affordable for all.’
6 June 2023
SAM IS ....
WATCH! Retained EU Law in Aviation Discussion with Simon Phippard, Of Counsel at Bird&Bird.
Key take away following briefing by the Department of Transport on 31 May 2023 on Retained EU Law, following the removal of the “sunset clause”. Discussion between Simon Phippard, Of Counsel at Bird&Bird, and Anne-Lise Scaillierez, CEO, ARPAS-UK.
This follows the summary published a few days ago, where we expressed our understanding that EU retained laws, in Aviation, are essentially preserved and will be assimilated into UK Law. This understanding was confirmed in our discussions with Simon.
SAM IS ....
Transforming Aviation Together: launching the Future Flight Community Integration Group
Innovate UK is pleased to announce the establishment of the Future Flight Community Integration Group, a collaborative initiative driven by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Future Flight Challenge.
The Future Flight Community Integration Group comprises a diverse range of members, including representatives from central and local government, industry, academia, end users, and an accessibility charity. ARPAS-UK is delighted to be involved and will draw on our own organisations and networks to bring input from others and ensure diverse voices are heard.
Kerissa Khan, Innovation Lead for UKRI’s Future Flight challenge and Co-Chair of the Community Integration Group, said:
The future of aviation is at a pivotal point. Advanced air mobility and drones are transforming the aviation sector, unlocking opportunities to better serve people and places with future flight. To secure the socio-economic benefits, we need to trailblaze pragmatic pathways to seamlessly integrate these new technologies and services into society. The variety of complexities we must tackle demands a collaborative approach drawing insights from across industry, government, and many different communities. I am pleased to launch the Future Flight Community Integration Group and am looking forward to bringing together diverse expertise, providing a forum for knowledge sharing and working together with a shared ambition to make future flight a reality across the UK.
Aleks Kowalski, ARPAS-UK Director, and its representative on the Community Integration Group, said:
ARPAS is pleased to have a seat on the Future Flight Community Integration Group as we recognise that drones have the potential to revolutionise how we connect people, transport goods, and deliver services in urban, rural, and remote areas, offering transformative opportunities for the aviation industry. By understanding and addressing legitimate community concerns we can design services that also bring significant social and economic benefits to society and highlight the positive opportunities that future flight services can bring, demonstrating the potential for enhanced connectivity, improved transportation, and expanded service delivery.
We look forward to supporting networking and collaboration opportunities among stakeholders, fostering partnerships, knowledge sharing, and innovative initiatives that drive progress in the aviation industry and beyond to deliver outputs such as plans, roadmaps, policy insights, and recommendations to guide the integration of drone services into local communities and regions to create a sustainable aviation ecosystem by considering environmental factors, community needs, and long-term viability in the deployment of future flight technologies.
This year Kerissa Khan MRAeS, President, Royal Aeronautical Society, launched the President’s Young Pioneer Award. The first of its kind, the aim of the award is to recognise the hard work and achievements of a young pioneer in industry who is pushing boundaries in innovation and making a positive impact.
A number of excellent nominations were received, reflecting the diverse yet significant contributions young professionals are making in industry. The award was presented at the RAeS Annual Banquet
The recipient was Mariya Tarabanovska – the founder of the not-for-profit organisation, Flight Crowd, who is doing outstanding work promoting advanced air mobility across industry and inspiring the next generation of professionals in this nascent field of aeronautics.
For more information on what Flight Crowd do, check out their website: www.flight-crowd.com
Congratulations!
SAM IS ....
CHIRP – New Telephone Number
CHIRP’s aviation programme improves safety in the air by providing a totally independent confidential reporting system for all individuals involved in aviation in UK airspace.
CHIRP has recently changed its telephone contact number to 020 4534 2881. The preferred method of submitting a report remains the website portal but telephone contact provides a means of liaising directly with the CHIRP team if necessary.
2 June 2023
SAM IS ....
June 2 2023 Drone Related Jobs
Disclaimer: All jobs posted here are from LinkedIn and other job sites including member and non-member organizations.
