Category: GOF 2.0

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More tests of drone integration into urban environment in Poland successfully conducted

More tests of drone integration into urban environment in Poland successfully conducted

GOF2.0 Trial Photos

In October this year, the airport in Kąkolewo near Grodzisk Wielkopolski hosted the final drone test flights implemented as part of the second edition of the GOF 2.0 project (under the auspices of the European research and development consortium SESAR JU), in which the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency participates. The goal of the initiative is the safe and sustainable integration of unmanned aircraft operations in urban airspace.

The tests in Poland successfully demonstrated, among other things, deconfliction in time and space, which allowed several drone operators, electrically powered vertical takeoff aircraft (eVTOLs) and manned aviation pilots to carry out their missions in parallel despite crossing flight trajectories.


The two-day event at the Airport in Wielkopolska voivodship was organized by the Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center supported by the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency. It was attended by representatives of the consortium, of 15 entities that are part of the SESAR JU “GOF 2.0 Integrated Urban Airspace Validation” initiative. In addition to the ability to conduct deconfliction in time and space, the demonstrations allowed to identify the best methods of digital data exchange between different actors – air traffic services, UAV operators, UAV flight coordination service providers. As a result, holistic situational awareness of manned and unmanned flight operations was ensured.

– As early as in January 2023, new U-space regulations will come into force, which will set the framework for unmanned traffic in the European Common Space and its integration with manned traffic. The GOF 2.0 project provides many valuable insights into how the integration process should be implement, while maintaining the level of safety, security or ongoing operations in the airspace. For PANSA, the project has helped to gain knowledge on how to use the existing capabilities of the PansaUTM ecosystem in the design of U-space solutions – commented Tomasz Prarat, Deputy Operations Director – UAV, PANSA.

The results of the project were made available to a wider audience, including representatives of business, local governments and academia, during an open day “Integrated Urban Air Mobility Forum.” Participants could learn about the assumptions and results of the project, listen to an inspiring panel discussion with representatives of GZM, PSNC, Ehang, PANSA, Creotech, Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems, CAFA Tech, DroneRadar and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, as well as to see the operational performance of the presented systems during organized test flights.

GOF2.0 Partners info

In 2022 the demonstrations were carried within the GOF 2.0 project in Austria, Estonia and Finland. The project has received funding from the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101017689.

GOF2.0 Trial Photo Gallery

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GOF 2.0

GOF 2.0 Tallinn Trial 2022 VIDEO

GOF2.0 Tallinn Trial 2022 VIDEO

On 28 September, under the initiative of the Estonian Air Navigation Services, trial flights once again took place in Viimsi as part of the GOF2.0 project with drones of different sizes and purposes in cooperation with drone developers and manufacturers CAFA Tech Estonia, Threod Systems Estonia. The flights were used to test systems and technical solutions developed for the management of unmanned air traffic in urban environments and for supporting drone flight in controlled and uncontrolled airspace.

Tallinn Trial 2022 Photo Gallery

European air traffic management research and development projects coordinator SESAR 3 JU supports the GOF 2.0 project, which aims to integrate unmanned air traffic systems into shared airspace.

The project is coordinated by the Estonian Air Navigation Services and it includes a total of 15 companies: Airbus, Aviamaps, CAFA Tech, Dimetor, Droneradar, EHang, Fintraffic ANS, Frequentis, Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center, Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Robots Expert Finland, Threod Systems Estonia, Unmanned Life, Vaisala Oyj.

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28 September saw another trial to integrate drones into urban environments in Estonia. GOF 2.0 Tallinn Trial 2022 Photos.

28 September saw another trials to integrate drones into urban environments in Estonia

GOF2.0 Tallinn Trial 2022 Photos

On 28 September, under the initiative of the Estonian Air Navigation Services, trial flights once again took place in Viimsi as part of the GOF2.0 project with drones of different sizes and purposes in cooperation with drone developers and manufacturers CAFA Tech Estonia, Threod Systems Estonia. The flights were used to test systems and technical solutions developed for the management of unmanned air traffic in urban environments and for supporting drone flight in controlled and uncontrolled airspace.

Trials are carried out within the framework of the GOF 2.0 project of the SESAR 3 joint European undertaking, which aims to integrate unmanned air traffic systems. In addition to Estonia, test flights are also taking place in Austria, Finland and Poland.

The new U-space legal framework encompassing the European Union will enter into force as early as January 2023, regulating the management of unmanned air traffic and prescribing the implementation of systems for advanced unmanned aviation. In Estonia and most European countries, you currently need to apply for a permit at least three working days in advance to fly a drone in an urban environment. Unfortunately, weather conditions and business needs can change rapidly, making it inefficient to plan things several days in advance.

The new systems devised by developers as part of the GOF 2.0 project enable drone operators to use the airspace in a flexible manner, and already issued flight plans can be altered from the moment a request is made. This should significantly speed up the coordination and approval of drone flights with air traffic control units in areas where this may prove necessary.

Threod System Drone

Tanel Järvet (CAFA Tech, Estonia) and Airboss Jonas Stjernberg (Robots Expert, Finland)

According to Tanel Järvet, CEO of Estonian drone and robotics company CAFA Tech, almost all commercial flights performed by drones today are already automated. But we need common control systems to ensure the safety of everyone using the airspace.

“We have been testing different systems for unmanned aviation since 2019, and have now integrated the C2 control systems of CAFA Tech drones with the unmanned aviation system. As a result of our work, the positions of our drones can be monitored in real time by all aircrafts in a single air traffic control system,” said Tanel Järvet.

In addition to flexibility, the technical solutions developed allow unmanned aviation to be integrated with conventional aviation, and the positions of drones can also be shared in real time. This information can be used for air traffic management and coordination with manned flights. The submission, acceptance and alteration of drone flight plans and the display of airspace warnings is also automated, and information about changes in the airspace and in air traffic conditions reaches the drone pilot without any delay.

For example, this means that if a medical helicopter and a package delivery drone want to reach the same building at the same time, the new system makes it possible to automatically postpone the delivery drone’s flight by something like 20 minutes until the medical helicopter has left the area.

PSNS Drone

Maria Tamm (EANS, Estonia)

Considering the rapid advancements made in drone flight and its expansion into other areas, such flexible use of airspace is already necessary and it is high time to integrate drones with other air traffic. According to Maria Tamm, Project Manager at EANS, U-space is needed to speed up the pre-flight approvals of unmanned flights and, in particular, to support flights that operate outside of the direct line of sight and share airspace with several other users, including manned aircrafts. “With U-space, we can integrate drone flights into the single airspace in such a way that these flights will take place in a safe and secure manner while also supporting the real needs of companies and operators. To this end, manned and unmanned aviation systems need to communicate with each other and exchange information necessary for aviation activities with all parties, thus enabling flexible airspace use,” said Tamm.

European air traffic management research and development projects coordinator SESAR 3 JU supports the GOF 2.0 project, which aims to integrate unmanned air traffic systems into shared airspace.

The project is coordinated by the Estonian Air Navigation Services and it includes a total of 15 companies: Airbus, Aviamaps, CAFA Tech, Dimetor, Droneradar, EHang, Fintraffic ANS, Frequentis, Poznan Supercomputing and Networking Center, Polish Air Navigation Services Agency, Robots Expert Finland, Threod Systems Estonia, Unmanned Life, Vaisala Oyj.

GOF2.0 Partners info

GOF2.0 Tallinn Trial 2022 Photo Gallery
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GOF2.0 project outcome conference with flight demonstrations

Integrated Urban Air Mobility Forum

GOF2.0 project outcome conference with flight demonstrations

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Date 14 Oct 2022 Time 10 a.m. CEST Aeroclub Poznański

GOF 2.0 Integrated Urban Airspace VLD consortium would like to invite you to join us in Poland for the presentation of project outcomes. We will present the findings and results of the Urban Air Mobility use case demonstrations that were carried out during 2021 and 2022 in Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden. We share the lessons learned from project trials on the safe, secure, and sustainable integration of unmanned aerial vehicles into urban airspace.

Unmanned and human-carrying air taxi operations are taking the steps from restricted, local flights to fly beyond visual line of sight to meet the future mobility needs and fight the climate change by substantially reducing carbon emissions from commercial, industrial, and urban transportation. For Urban Air Mobility to become a sustainable transportation system it must be integrated with other transportation infrastructure, such as airports, harbours, train/bus terminals, as well as logistics centres. The ability of drone logistics and air-taxis to form a seamless transportation chain in and out of airports without affecting other commercial air traffic is therefore of utmost importance.

Join us in Kąkolewo, Poland for first-hand experience how the European SESAR Wave 2 project GOF 2.0 enables and tests the operational validity of serving unmanned aerial systems and manned operations safely, securely, and sustainably in a unified, dense urban airspace using existing air traffic management and U-space services and systems!

Contact: Piotr Szymaniak, Coordinator of PSNC Aerospace Lab
e-mail: piotr.szymaniak@man.poznan.pl

Agenda:

10:00 – Welcome (PSNC + SESAR)
10:15 – Overview of the GOF2.0 project (Maria Tamm, EANS, GOF 2.0 project coordinator)
10:30 – GOF 2.0 Integrated Urban Airspace VLD trials and operational concepts (Jonas Stjernberg, Robots Expert, Demonstration Lead)
11:00 – GOF2.0 project technical solution and lessons learned from the technical integration (Thomas Lutz, Frequentis, Technical Lead)
11:20 – Integrated Urban Air Mobility – panel discussion with Q&A
12:30 Lunch
13:15 – Overview of the Demonstration exercise (PSNC, Trial Lead)
13:30 Live trial (PSNC, Trial Lead)
15:00 Closing remarks

Book your place to attend the open day demonstrations and dissemination event here:

Book your spot and see you soon in Kąkolewo (EPPG), Poland!

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GOF 2.0 is managed by the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking in an effort to deliver solutions for U-space, the European Commission’s initiative on the safe and secure integration of drones in European airspace.

This project has received funding from the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101017689.

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The SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking is an institutionalised European partnership between private and public sector partners set up to accelerate through research and innovation the delivery of the Digital European Sky. To do so, it is harnessing, developing and accelerating the take-up of the most cutting-edge technological solutions to manage conventional aircraft, drones, air taxis and vehicles flying at higher altitudes. The SESAR 3 JU partnership brings together the EU, Eurocontrol, and more than 50 organisations covering the entire aviation value chain, from airports, airspace users of all categories, air navigation service providers, drone operators and service providers, the manufacturing industry and scientific community. The partnership also works closely with the regulatory and standardisation bodies, notably EASA and Eurocae, as well as key stakeholders, such professional staff organisations, the space and military communities and global partners. 

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GOF 2.0

GOF 2.0 trials in wave 2 are coming soon!

GOF 2.0 trials in wave 2 are coming soon!

Find out what the GOF 2.0 project is about and have a look how some trials in wave 1 turned out by watching this new video!

Trials information
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What is an Airboss?

What is an Airboss?

Have you ever wondered what the role of an airboss is and what responsibilities he or she has during (drone) test flights? We summarised the answers in this blog entry for you.

During trials, the Airboss coordinates the safe planning and execution of all flights in a complex environment, including possible coordination with Air Traffic Control (ATC). Scenarios are meant to be challenging enough that unprecedented learnings can be taken away from each trial. Execution is making sure that each event happens smoothly, without putting anyone or anything at an unforeseen risk.

“What makes our role so interesting is that we are working with all the project partners to make sure that risks are anticipated and mitigated to the most possible extent and that the systems support the decision making and anticipation of risks to avoid catastrophes”, says Jonas Stjernberg, Senior Vice President at Robots Expert (REX), acting as Chief Airboss in the GOF 2.0 trials.

Airboss

Once on site, the Airboss has a transverse systemic view on everything that happens. The experience often allows them to spot deviations before they occur. Asking the right questions sometimes brings lights to a situation. Very large demonstrations of the scale of SESAR JU GOF 2.0 sometimes require several Airbosses to have eyes on site in different places, sometimes concurrently in different countries and with separate communication channels to maintain safety and drive performance.

Prior to the trials, objectives and success criteria are defined and complex scenarios are drawn involving all partners. For each trial, safety is at the top of the agenda. The briefing conducted by REX in partnership with the trial leaders systematically include the latest weather information, flight conditions, limitations and, of course, rehearsal of the emergency response plan.

“The GOF 2.0 trials have been designed with what we referred to internally as an “onion” concept. In practice, this means that each partner knows what needs to be demonstrated, what situations they may encounter, but does not know what the other partners know or plan to do. In essence, it is less impressing than the drone swarm light shows with hundreds of drones, that we have coordinated in the past, but a lot more complex because it is closer to reality and in a mixed environment with manned aircraft and sometimes at active aerodromes. A real emergency authority or Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) flight or a flock of bird can also happen at anytime and disrupt the trial”, says Stjernberg.

The next trials in the GOF 2.0 project are planned to happen in May and June 2022 – so stay tuned for further updates.

Trials information
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The next trials in the GOF 2.0 project are planned to happen in May and June 2022 – so stay tuned for further updates. Robots Expert (REX) is one of 15 consortium partners in the SESAR JU GOF 2.0 project and its a team consists of highly experienced professionals, pilots, technology experts, sustainability leaders, and public life influencers. REX commonly engages with cities, public and private entities to shape a future where developments mean real progress and benefit both society and business. More information can be found here: https://www.robots.expert/
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Join the GOF 2.0 virtual trials on 5 October

GOF 2.0 virtual trials on 5 October:
How to organise air traffic over urban environment in Klagenfurt (Austria)

On 5 October 2021, between 13:00-14:30 CET, the GOF 2.0 project partners are going to virtually demonstrate how the GOF 2.0 System-of-Systems uses real-time information exchange – such as flight plans, telemetry, alerts, GeoZones, and cellular connectivity coverage – between Drone operators and Unmanned Traffic Management (U-space) systems so that drones and manned aircraft can safely fly in the same airspace at the same time.

You are kindly invited to participate in the GOF 2.0 project Klagenfurt Virtual Trial via MS Teams on 5 October between 13:00 and 14:30 CET. For the first time, we will publicly show how the use of airspace by drones works, using U-space systems. In addition, you will see step-by-step how U-space works for both drone operators (Ehang, Threod, CAFA Tech) and the Air Traffic Controller.

Moreover, for the first time it will be demonstrated live the end-to-end telecom-aviation data integration in Austria, together with the Austrian mobile network operator Drei.

Please send us your registration via email to media@gof2.eu until latest Monday, 4 October, 13:00 CET

Trials

This project has received funding from the SESAR Joint Undertaking under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101017689.

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GOF 2.0 @ Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2021

GOF 2.0 @ Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2021

Project partner Unmanned Life is going to present the scope of GOF 2.0 at the Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2021 in two of their keynote speeches:

We are happy and proud to have such a great project consortium in GOF 2.0 to push the state-of-the-art together.


Don’t miss these interesting sessions!
#GOF2 #MWC21

 

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Webinar: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Urban Air Mobility

Webinar: Use of Artificial Intelligence in Urban Air Mobility

 

Drones, personal flying vehicles, and air taxis may be part of our everyday life in the very near future. This means new mobility and transport routes, but also new services like surveillance, delivery, transportation, etc. Some of these new aerial vehicles will require landing pads, charging points, and drone ports. The digital transformation expands skyward and already today the changes in drone technology hold enormous promise for the future use of airspace and aviation at large.

In short, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, drones, air taxis) will be part of our future. This requires a change in the way airspace is managed. We need to develop new environment and framework conditions – a U-space where we integrate UTM and ATM for their safe co-existence.

Both ATM and U-space communities depend extensively on the provision of timely, relevant, accurate, and quality-assured digital information to collaborate and make informed decisions. We need the understanding how the integration of UTM and other commercial drone operations into ATM airspace can be implemented without degrading safety, security, or disrupting current airspace operations. 

This requires an impressive amount of digitalisation, systems need to be rebuilt, tested, and validated. Like in many other industries it is closely connected to adapting new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

On 24 and 25 March the very first virtual summit “AI + Industry Virtual Aviation Summit” took place. The summit was opened by a panel discussion on the topic of “Use of Artificial Intelligence in Urban Air Mobility”. The panel was moderated by Munish Khurana (Senior Manager – ATM/UTM Business Development, EUROCONTROL). In the panel, GOF 2.0 consortium representatives Günter Graf (VP New Business Development, Frequentis), Jonas Stjernberg (SVP, Robots Expert), Andreas Perotti (CMO, Ehang Europe), and Ivar Värk (CEO, EANS) focused in their discussions on the application, relevance, and significance of AI & highly automated systems within the aviation industry and in context of GOF 2.0 project.

The panel members represented a well-balanced share of experience from various parts of the Urban Air Mobility ecosystem comprising of OEMs, UTM & U-space service provider, ecosystem integrator, aviation authority, and a seasoned moderator. During the one-hour discussion the panelists discussed and described the main objectives of the future U-space and how it can use the AI in its design and development processes:

  • The need for safe and secure interchange of data between drones and ATM in urban environment.
  • The scope of digital traffic infrastructure required to be built for the safe integration of drones into the airspace.
  • The role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in separating drones and other airspace users – based on use cases planned in the SESAR JU GOF 2.0 project – in a Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) environment.

According to the panelists it will require a great amount of trust for switching from the human-in-the-loop perspective to systems and the trust will come with the knowledge that the systems work.