NASA aiming for establishment of traffic rules for Low-Flying and Commercial Drones

NASA is not among the latest companies who got interested in the air traffic control management system. According to the recent files reports, NASA is in search for partners to collaborate and establish a traffic management system for low-flying drones. In the fact sheet containing the proposal on this issue NASA explained that at the moment there are no infrastructure established that can not only enable but also safely manage the extensive usage of low-altitude airspace. Drones and the Small craft which are basically remotely guided and are used by hobbyists along with drones have no knowledge of each other. They might not be able to avoid each other and other things like high winds and power lines etc.

NASA is aiming towards building a system, which will help them in tracking as well as managing the increasing numbers of aircrafts in the air. Even though NASA has been working on a project on the similar lines for more than years, the proposed “Unmanned aerial system Traffic Management” (UTM) is still in its infancy. Currently NASA is planning to work people who have expertise and have contributed towards this idea, which includes aircraft makers, sensors and software developers and aviation experts among others.

Commercial drones

Agency is looking for partners to develop a project for safe commercial usage of drones in United States of America. This multi-year program is an idea towards developing air traffic management for commercial drones. This program is important as the commercial drones used in banned in USA by the Federal Aviation Administration which includes devices like Octocopters, Quadcopters and other remote-controlled aircraft among others.

This means a path has been cleared for people who now legally fly consumer can grade UAS (unmanned aerial system) from various companies ranging from 3D robotics, DJI and Parrot among others. Added to this factor, now Amazon has announced that they will use this device to deliver package.

Airware is among the first partners who are helping the agency in this multi year program. The aim of this device is to ensure a safe management apart from the low altitude use of devices from ground to 500 feet. According to Jesse Kallman, who is the head of Airware's business development and regulatory affairs, the current problem that everyone is facing is that there is no universal system for the ensuring the safety of people on ground apart from those in airplanes and helicopters, as sometimes there are communication issues with drone pilots due to their devices.

Apart from this NASA aims to safe delivery of the pilot at ground. Even though this program it is not expected to launch it for upcoming years, but elements of this work is expected to come out in the market anytime in between.