Document Is An Outline For Safe Integration For Autonomous Aircraft

Altiscope, the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) group from A³ by Airbus focused on enabling the future of aviation, has released Blueprint for the Sky: The Roadmap for the Safe Integration of Autonomous Aircraft. The Blueprint represents months of careful analysis by Airbus of the future needs for the airspace, the widespread impact of its forthcoming changes, and the development of the tools required for its enablement.

Our skies are about to get busier, with the amount of commercial air traffic set to double in the next 15 years. At the same time, air traffic management must account for an entirely new category on the rise: autonomous aircraft. In January of 2018 the FAA announced it had registered one million drones in the United States alone, with three million forecasted having been shipped worldwide in 2017. As a worldwide leader in aircraft manufacturing, it’s vital for Airbus to be at the forefront of developing new traffic management systems to safely accommodate this opportunity. Autonomous missions and flights, core to the future aircraft Airbus is investing in designing, testing, and building today will not be possible without UTM and Airbus has a duty to ensure the continued safe operation of existing and emerging airspace missions.    

“We stand at a thrilling point in the history of aviation. The skies are busier than ever, but there is another change on the horizon. Soon, autonomous aircraft will be transporting people and goods all around the world. Airbus welcomes this revolution,” said Tom Enders, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus. “The shift to self- and remotely-piloted aircraft is exciting, and enables all manner of new opportunities. It also brings risks that need to be addressed now. Safety is not an afterthought in aerospace; it is a fundamental rule that cannot be compromised. The airspace of tomorrow can only deliver on its promise through collaboration—regulators, manufacturers, service providers, investors, and consumers, all working together with a common understanding. We are excited to share the Blueprint, and to see the future we can make fly together.”

Airbus’ Blueprint has been reviewed by a number of independent parties, including representatives from IATA, NATCA, GUTMA, the World Economic Forum, and the New Zealand Ministry of Transport. All reviewers are committed to the industry-wide collaboration required to ensure safe and successful management of the airspace of the future. The document is designed to function as a conversation starter for those empowered to effect change as the industry evolves, and to support policies and rulemaking that can regulate autonomous operations to ensure that air transport remains as safe tomorrow as it is today.

“A3’s mission is to develop innovative solutions to address the emergent needs of the aerospace industry, and the Blueprint is a great example of just that: well-informed industry leadership that brings about essential change while keeping safety at the forefront of every conversation,” said Rodin Lyasoff, Chief Executive Officer, A3 by Airbus. “This document’s creation inspired important and valuable discussions both inside and outside of Airbus; I look forward to seeing those opportunities explored further with the Blueprint as a guiding set of principles.”

The Altiscope team has a diverse set of backgrounds, bringing to the group professional experiences in government organizations, regulatory agencies, and distributed systems development. The team’s background in distributed systems development is key to the creation and success of Altiscope’s approach to provide stakeholders the tools and guidance to help them manage incredibly complex situations and develop scalable systems where all functions work together. The team will continue to research and design the architecture for the safely integrated skies of tomorrow, publish findings of their research to the community, and open source the tools and code developed so that the impact is maximized.

(Image provided with A3 news release)

FMI: utmblueprint.com