Roadways… in the Sky?
The revolutionary technology that will redefine transportation.
Remember those busy high school hallways when everyone was in transit between classes? Ever wondered why they were so painfully congested? The problem was that everyone used the same hallway, but had a different purpose and use for the space. Some people were busy at their lockers, others navigated to their next class, on occasion, teachers pushed carts down the hall, and many people stood around in groups blocking all the flow.
These inefficiencies are present on our modern roadways.
For example, the commuter driving to work shares the same road with; the mailman who is trying to find a spot to park, the delivery truck trying to negotiate tight streets, the city bus that stops every block, and millions of other vehicles.
Everyone shares the same road system, despite using it differently with unique objectives. Consequently, the same congestion present in high school hallways is prevalent in our roadway system. Clearly, this system is not ideal.
Getting Transit Off the Ground
What if, instead of depending on the same two dimensional road system for all our transit needs, we used three dimensional airspace to revolutionize transportation? Through the use of drones, deliveries can be conducted in the air, alleviating stress on road systems by eliminating diverse road uses.
Companies such as FedEx, Amazon, and Uber are all developing drone systems for delivery and are showing potential. This interest proves there is promise in the idea; however, without a standardized framework, commercialized drone usage can not be scaled and fully leveraged.
Restructuring Airspace for Drones
Currently, airspace for drones is like driving cars without roads. They can be operated, but due to the lack of a structured framework to follow, there is a heightened risk of accidents as volumes increase. Consequently, there are strict restrictions in place on drone usage for the sake of safety that limit the opportunity to scale their widespread use.
By creating an “artificial” (virtual) road system for drones, operators will have airways to follow as a way to control and regulate air traffic, allowing more drones to be in the air.
Faculty at UC Berkeley have identified an opportunity to implement this framework and have created a prototype drone air traffic control system. Their framework has three key components that are each crucial in ensuring the system works practically in the real world.
Component Breakdown
- Airway/airspace planning
Through their cloud-based platform, UC Berkeley can catalogue all buildings, spaces and landing areas in order to define airways. Above each building, the owner has rights to the parcel of air above their land. Owners can register the height of their building and deny access around their building to create a no-fly zone (represented by red buildings in the figure).
Berkeley anticipates that insurance companies will incentivize owners to register their buildings so that all liability falls onto the operator not the building owner. This incentive will quicken the process of filling the database.
With this database, the system can design airways, and can calculate flight paths for drones. Overall, this platform works similar to Google Maps.
2. Drone classification and law enforcement
The airway framework will allow drones to fly in more structured patterns, meaning more drones can be in the sky; however, even if one person breaks the rules, the result could be catastrophic for the system. Therefore, it is crucial that a) all drones in the air are registered and are using the framework, and b) drones are following the rules set by the system.
To ensure all operational drones are registered and are using the framework, real-time identification is necessary so law enforcement can intervene. Legally operating drones will be able to transmit position and heading information through a server in real time, whereas unregistered drones won’t. The transmitted data will match up with information provided to law enforcement that shows the expected air traffic in an area. Drones in the air that don’t match the dataset can be identified and safely terminated as result.
To ensure all drones are following their provided airways and rules, flight data will be sent to a server that automatically checks for violations, and can charge fines accordingly.
Overall, this two levelled system will optimize safe travel in the air.
3. Control functions and collision avoidance
Since drones share similar low-altitude airspace with helicopters, there is upmost importance that drones do not conflict with manned vehicles. Having a system that actively avoids helicopters, while mitigating changes to flight paths will ensure seamless transit for drones and helicopters alike.
The FAA mandated that all aircraft flying in the US are required to be equipped with an Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which is just a fancy name for a device that allows aircraft to communicate. This device allows for cooperative avoidance between drones and helicopters.
As the unmanned vehicle, it is the drone’s responsibility to avoid the helicopter. The helicopter cooperates by transmitting its position, heading, and velocity through the ADS-B, so drones can calculate the optimal avoidance maneuver and prevent conflicts.
Moving Up From Here
UC Berkeley’s work is an important first step, but there are still many limitations of the technology. For example, as drone volumes continue to increase, there needs to be more rigid enforcement to eliminate unregistered drones from being in the sky. As well, the system can get drones from point A to B, but when drones begin to intersect paths, traffic flows will need to be regulated, similar to traffic lights and road signs.
Overall, current technologies are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the possibilities of drone travel.
What the Future Might Hold
As technologies continue to advance, both with drones and air traffic control, the sky is (literally) the limit when it comes to the realm of possibilities.
Three main areas of opportunity are layered drone networks, autonomous drones, and providing the ability to transport people in drones.
Layered Networks:
Currently, drone airways are similar to current road systems, and those unbearable high school hallways; they are fixed on two dimensional planes. A layered airway system would be an effective way to go three dimensional, allowing for the maximization of airspace, and also separate drones that have different purposes in the air.
Different altitudes of airspace can be used for unique purposes, similar to how different radio frequencies represent unique stations. For example, lower layers can be for slower, short distance flights, whereas higher layers can be for faster and longer flights. This system will increase efficiency across each layer due to higher consistency of usage, so there will be less congestion.
Autonomous Drones Networks:
While drones have the ability operate autonomously, they do so independently. Beyond the ADS-B that prevents imminent collisions, there are no frameworks in place to coordinate networks of drones.
By communicating with each other, drones can optimize traffic flows, and proactively anticipate the situation of all other drones around it. For example, if one drone needs to slow down to make a turn, the network will know in advance since the drone would already be in communication with the system. As a result, all other drones could proactively adapt so that the system does not get backed up behind it.
This network would also lead to a greater airway capacity, allowing for increased drone volumes, and an optimization of airspace.
Human Transport:
If parcels can be transported via drones, why can’t humans? There are several risks involved with human drone travel, but with the right system in place, the outcomes are incredible.
Uber as already been preparing for their 2023 launch of Uber Air, a drone ride-sharing service. Particularly beneficial for intercity travel, with Uber Air, a nearly 2 hour drive from San Francisco to San Jose would be cut to a mere 15 minutes.
Due to low volumes of drone traffic, in the short term, Uber Air will be relatively safe. However, as airways get more crowded, risks will increase. Therefore, with the integration of the previous two measures, namely layered airways and autonomous systems, safety for human transport will be optimal.
Overall, with the advancement of drone air traffic control, transportation will finally be able to graduate from the halls of high school.
