Dagi Geister is a computer scientist who joined DLR as a doctoral student after completing her studies. She became a project manager shortly after obtaining her doctorate.

„As a child, I would have loved to take off from the ground myself“

As a child, I would have loved to take off from the ground myself, but today I simply keep an eye on drones from the ground. I have been working on drone technologies for 10 years and am the technical lead on all research projects at the DLR Institute of Flight Guidance that involve the integration of drones into airspace.

„I am interested in making future airspace as safe as possible“

Traffic monitoring, fire assessment, the transport of blood supply – all services that could be performed quickly and safely by drones as soon as 10 years from now. If this vision of the future becomes reality, the aircraft will have to navigate safely to avoid numerous obstacles in cities. For almost 20 years, the institute where I work, the Institute of Flight Guidance in Braunschweig, has been looking into the integration of drones into manned airspace. In the meantime, the focus has shifted to ground-based and urban airspace. Here, the diverse interests of drone manufacturers and operators and air traffic management must be coordinated and reconciled.

„With my 17-person team, I embark on journeys of discovery day after day“

In my team I work with colleagues from engineering, mathematics and psychology backgrounds. Day after day, we face exciting challenges - the focus is always on the question: How can we solve the space-related problems we encounter in the air? I’m convinced that an interdisciplinary team achieves the best results, especially when it comes to the implementation of projects.

We were able to demonstrate our capabilities in 2018 during a field test as part of the City-ATM project. A communications network was set up in the Port of Hamburg and three drones were used to monitor the Köhlbrand Bridge within the control zone of Fuhlsbüttel Airport. Five DLR institutes and external partners from science and industry cooperated on this test.

Exciting research topics are one of many things that I particularly appreciate at DLR. As a mother, I have the best framework conditions for my research and am able to balance family and career. Since returning to work from my parental leave, I have been leading the Specialist Group Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) on a part-time basis and can combine this with flexitime.