September Plenary Meeting Provides Focus For Initiating Update To Standardization Roadmap

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has issued a call for participants for its Unmanned Aircraft Systems Standardization Collaborative (UASSC). The announcement follows the UASSC's 2019 plenary meeting held September 12 in Washington, DC, which served as the official launch of an update to the Standardization Roadmap for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, published in December 2018.

The UASSC's mission is to coordinate and accelerate the development of the standards and conformity assessment programs needed to facilitate the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, into the national airspace system. The collaborative also focuses on international coordination and adaptability, with the goal of fostering the growth of the UAS market, particularly related to civil, commercial, and public safety applications. The 2018 roadmap identifies existing standards and standards in development and related conformance programs, defines where gaps exist, and recommends additional work that is needed including a timeline for its completion and organizations that potentially can perform the work. The UASSC does not develop standards.

The September 12 meeting drew 119 participants from 87 organizations including industry, trade associations, standards developing organizations (SDOs), government, and others. It included discussion of top UAS issues of concern and topics to address in the roadmap version 2.0, targeted for publication by the end of June 2020. Goals for updating the document include expanding the content to include topics such as spectrum, urban air mobility, and recreational operations; engaging subject matter experts not previously involved; identifying potentially overlooked gap; tracking progress by standards developers to address the roadmap's recommendations; reviewing priorities; and otherwise incorporating feedback.

Subject-matter experts interested in participating in one or more of the four UASSC working groups are invited to review the working group architecture and return the sign-up sheet as soon as possible. The working groups will hold two online meetings per month over the next six months beginning the week of September 30. Participation in the UASSC is open to UAS stakeholders that have operations in the United States. The UASSC is co-chaired by Jay Merkle, the FAA's executive director of UAS integration, and Matt Zuccaro, president and CEO of Helicopter Association International.

To help offset ANSI's costs of operating the UASSC, sponsorship opportunities are also available. ANSI extends its appreciation to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, ASTM International, and others, for their generous contributions to support the work of the UASSC.

"We are excited for the opportunity to expand and enhance the content of the UASSC roadmap and to continue to provide a forum for coordination and discussion of critical issues among UAS standards developers and standards users," said ANSI president and CEO S. Joe Bhatia.

(Source: ANSI news release)

FMI: www.ansi.org/uassc