About the project

Context &

Ambitions

The growth of the drone economy and the implementation of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) require a new air traffic management framework for low-altitude operations. This framework, known as U-space, involves a range of digital and automated services aimed at providing safe, efficient, and secure access to airspace for a large number of drones. It will accommodate routine missions in any class of airspace and environment while ensuring compatibility with manned aviation and air traffic control. To achieve this vision, demonstrators will play a crucial role, bridging the gap between research and industrialization, and promoting market uptake.

In this context, EALU-AER ambition is to demonstrate U-space architecture operations (U1 and U2 services) and the integration with ATM, establishing Ireland’s first Digital Sky Demonstrator.

Objectives

U-SPACE ARCHITECTURE

EALU-AER will build an infrastructure platform using top-notch drone traffic management technology solutions, including a fully functioning vertiport, a U-Space platform, a backhaul network, communications and surveillance equipment, and advanced three-dimensional phased array radar. Along the project lifespan, 4 technology integration phases are foreseen:

Phase 1:

The first phase, a VLOS flight based on the simplest CONOPS, uses WebUAS connectivity to the ground control station and Shannon air traffic control through the ARINC Global Network Point of Presence and Network Monitoring.

Phase 2:

Addition of Skyler Surveillance and EVLOS (Extended Visual Line of Sight) utilizing the demo drones embedded C2 (Command & Control).

Phase 3:

Addition of CNPC C2 ground network and integration of CNPC onto a test platform.

Phase 4:

Additional BVLOS corridors to another county (Galway and/or Dublin).

DEMOS

The project will execute five use cases of urban air mobility that capture the operational requirements, vehicle dynamics, and technology demonstrations associated with the projected near-term UAM services market, such as local inspection, light-freight, long-distance logistics, air-taxi operations, hence spanning short to long range distances.

  • USE CASE 1 – BVLOS Validation
  • USE CASE 2 – BVLOS Expansion
  • USE CASE 3 – Remote BVLOS
  • USE CASE 4 – BVLOS Cross Jurisdiction
  • USE CASE 5 – Remote/Mobile Launch.

PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE

Citizens’ and future users’ confidence and acceptance will be critical to UAM success. EALU-AER will perform a comprehensive study on the societal acceptance of UAM operations across Ireland, examining the attitudes, expectations and concerns of citizens with respect to UAM, new business models and technologies. New roles and major changes in skills and competencies needed by the future workforce will be also assessed.

COORDINATION & HARMONIZATION

Establish a coordination process with the other Digital Sky Demonstrator projects and various regulatory and standardisation bodies to ensure consistency, integration, consolidation at a Pan-European level.

Related global activities & projects

The project will coordinate with wider global activities carried out by EASA, CINEA and other European Agencies, ICAO, EUROCAE, ASTM, ISO, EUROCONTROL and other SESAR Digital Sky Demonstrators addressing U-space and urban air mobility such as U-ELCOME and BURDI.