Delivering an aviation revolution
From greener planes to transporting medical supplies by drone, 17 projects aim to deliver an aviation revolution with regulation and testing at the core.
Since 2019 the Future Flight Challenge at UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has been on a mission. Its aim: to deliver the third revolution in aviation.
Using new classes of electric or hydrogen powered aircraft and autonomous vehicles, the challenge is transforming how we connect people, deliver goods and provide services.
In July 2022 the challenge announced the 17 winners of its £73 million funding competition. The winners are focusing on:
- accelerating the progress of new technologies
- gathering social insight
- advanced aviation solutions
- moving aviation towards net zero
- moving concepts through to the demonstration stage.
Creating connections
But at the heart of the Future Flight Challenge is the idea of connectivity. In some cases, this means creating valuable economic connections. Like with the Open Skies Cornwall project.
Spanning the county itself, including the often-compromised route to the Scilly Isles, it’s developing drone passages to support industries such as maritime, mining, tourism and energy, as well as important services like Royal Mail and the NHS. The project is helping residents of the Scilly Isles get their mail and receive vital medicines like antibiotics in all weather conditions.
Similarly, the Skyway project will use renewable energy-powered drones to speed up parcel delivery and infrastructure inspection across a large connected airspace covering Oxford, Cambridge, Coventry, Reading and Milton Keynes.
After gaining approval from the Civil Aviation Authority this 165-mile drone superhighway will explore how drones can be used over a specific area to cut inspection times of infrastructure and speed up parcel delivery times from hours to minutes. If successful, the trial may be rolled out to other areas of the country.
Improving access to medical care
Another critical area of connection relates to medical care. For many people, faster access to medical treatment is one of the most tangible benefits to the future of aviation — whether they need their prescription delivered to their local pharmacy, or chemotherapy medication brought on demand. Using drones enables:
- medical samples to get to the laboratory faster
- cancer patients to receive treatment nearer home rather than travelling long distances
- improved reaction times in the delivery of urgent care items like defibrillators, potentially saving more lives
- quicker matching of a donor and getting the right blood sooner when you need a blood transfusion
Drones not only bring immediate medical benefits to patients, but they also have logistical benefits to NHS staff and lower CO2 emissions when compared to current transport models.
For this reason, the challenge funded the Morecambe Bay Medical Shuttle project. Based in the north west of England, it aims to use remotely piloted drones to speed up delivery of pathology samples between three hospitals. The electrically charged drones will cut the delivery times between the hospitals across Morecambe Bay by more than an hour, enhancing the operation of pathology labs, meaning patients and clinicians will have access to results faster.
It’s also supporting the CAELUS 2 project with NHS Scotland and research partners. They are working to deliver what will be the first national drone network that can transport essential medicines, bloods and other medical supplies throughout Scotland including to remote communities.
More than drones
But the challenge isn’t just supporting the development of new air vehicles. It’s also backing a range of projects and concepts focused on safety, airspace management and infrastructure.
All will be essential to the successful integration of new aviation technology.
The SafeZone Phase 3 project, for example, is helping to make drone flights safer. It’s creating a data service that supplies real-time information about air hazards in built-up environments. This allows drones to adapt their route as they fly through wind changes and close to buildings.
Meanwhile, the High-intensity Autonomous Drone Operations (HADO) project will investigate how to make drones autonomously navigate obstacles such as aircraft, wildlife, people, ground transportation, and other drones, without direct human supervision. By conducting trials at Heathrow Airport they aim to deliver the first application of such a system in a busy real-world environment.
Safety is vital
Producing a new aviation landscape in the UK is by no means easy. But these early use cases are vital to the real-world development of future flight technologies. The information gathered in these projects will help inform future initiatives in busier and more challenging environments.
Still a lot to do
Over the past few years, we’ve seen rapid developments in all aspects of the aviation system and the benefits are becoming clearer. This gives us even more reason to tackle the many complexities involved in trying to bring about an aviation revolution. One of the biggest ongoing challenges is working with local authorities, public sector bodies and regulatory bodies to ensure the roll out of these technologies is safe, legal and supported by people and policy. There is still much work to do.
Want to know more?
The Future Flight Challenge programme is delivered by Innovate UK and the Economic and Social Research Council as part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).
ISCF addresses the big societal challenges being faced by UK businesses today, backed by £2.6 billion of public money, with £3 billion in matched funding from the private sector. You can read more about what we do here.
