Honeywell and Frequentis recently conducted a flight test to demonstrate how eVTOL aircraft could operate with a ground control station. In June, the partners flew a T-Drones VA25 drone at Amstetten in Austria, with the operation managed by Honeywell’s new ground control station from its research and development facility in Brno, Czech Republic.
The work is being conducted under the European Sesar Joint Undertaking’s Operate Anywhere (Project OperA) consortium. It is intended to prepare for safe and efficient operations by uncrewed aircraft to prepare for the time when some eVTOL vehicles will not have a pilot on board.
Using a collaborative interface with air traffic control services, the ground control station operator received ATC commands. According to Honeywell, the approach will improve the efficiency of eVTOL operations using real-time data exchanges between the systems on the aircraft and those on the ground.
Frequentis produces communication and information systems for control centers involved in safety-critical tasks. The Austrian company provided enhanced U-space services for the flight test, including mission conformance monitoring and tactical conflict resolution. U-Space is a new air traffic management environment for uncrewed aircraft.
Using both real and simulated drones, the Honeywell team demonstrated how a new ground-based detect and avoid solution is intended to be a tool to make drone flights safer and more reliable. The demonstrations are part of the Project OperA work that Honeywell is leading with funding from the European Union’s Sesar 3 Joint Undertaking.