Back

Print

MasterUAS

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) form one of the most important growth areas in aviation in the coming years. It is vital that the integration of such UAV into the aviation area is ensured. Important thereby are technical solutions for the prevention of collision with current aircraft and other UAV. Systems integrators and manufacturers of UAV are heavily dependent on the availability of system components for cooperative separation and automatic “Detect and Avoid”. Such systems are, however, currently not yet available. In particular, ready-made solutions which cover the UAV weight class of <500kg and the "Beyond Line of Sight" deployment do not yet exist. Similarly, the corresponding approval requirements have not yet been fully clarified.

The objective of MasterUAS (multi-sensor system with “Detect and Avoid” for the secure integration of UAS into the air traffic) is the development of a function demonstrator for the secure integration of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), also referred to as drones, into the air transport system. This will be achieved through the combination of different complementary collision-avoidance systems. The project also includes the further development of the approval requirements for such systems, whereby the main focus is directed at the admissibility of the systems in non-segregated airspace.

Within the framework of the project, DLR is building an environment for the simulation, in a realistic traffic situation, of the individual UAV equipped with the sensors which are yet to be developed. For this, the simulation of a complex traffic scenario is necessary, which - depending on the chosen airspace - can include a whole series of manned and unmanned aircraft. The objective is the significant expansion of the existing competence of the DLR air traffic simulator which has, up until now, primarily covered manned fixed-wing aircraft. The DLR's own ground control station U-Fly will also continue to be upgraded. This has already been adapted to various mission scenarios and UAV in preceding projects. Through the application in MasterUAS, the U-Fly will be further developed in the direction of a universal deployment platform.