The U-space Concept

Abstract

The integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems (drones) into airspace has turned out to be a real challenge. Drones have difficulties in following many of the rules designed for manned aviation, because drones are plentiful and cheap, because they have no pilot on board, and because they are often flown at a very low altitude. This creates major issues relating to safety, traffic management, privacy, and law enforcement. To solve them, European regulatory bodies have come up with a new concept: U-space. In this article, I focus on that particular concept. First, I explore several rules designed for manned aviation; second, I present several challenges posed thereto by drones; and third, I analyse how these challenges will be solved in U-space. My analysis emphasizes that U-space is not merely a legal but also a technological concept, and it is as much a public as it is a private effort. I maintain that this interplay is necessary, since it is counterproductive to develop the concept without taking into account emerging technology and without close cooperation with the industry. My analysis also acknowledges that many U-space services are already available today. However, since many of such services are fragmentary and have only been demonstrated in a controlled environment, I argue that it will take much more effort to bring the concept to its full fruition.

Enhancing drone abnormal behavior detection using data fusion techniques and dynamic Bayesian network methods

“…However, this landscape is assured for change. With the introduction of regulations like the U-Space zone in 2023, 27 drones are now legally permitted to operate in urban and city environments. This regulatory shift opens avenues for collecting extensive real-world drone flight data, presenting an opportunity to test and refine existing anomaly detection models under more realistic conditions.…”

“…To develop our taxonomy of drone behaviors, we drew inspiration from a variety of established taxonomies, such as those used for maritime behaviors and aviation flight patterns, [28][29][30] while also incorporating insights from the limited data available from the U-Space regulations up to this point. 27 This approach allowed us to create a comprehensive framework that not only reflects the specificities of drone operations but also aligns with broader principles of behavior categorization in regulated spaces. By examining and adapting existing taxonomies from related fields, we ensured that our classification system is grounded in tried-and-tested methodologies, yet tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities presented by drone technology.…”

Air Traffic Controllers' Perspectives on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Integration into Non-Segregated Airspace

“…The different functional features of UAVs necessitate a separate approach from traditional methods in aviation safety regulations (Arblaster, 2018;Vidović et al, 2019). It is a serious challenge to define clear rules and regulations for the integration of UAVs into the existing air traffic without disrupting it (Huttunen, 2019;Stöcker et al, 2017).…”

Hostile UAV Detection and Neutralization Using a UAV System

“…UAV technologies are being developed much faster than is the means of their legislation. For example, the electronic UAV control system U-SPACE is only in the concept stage at the moment [7]. To overcome UAV-related challenges, relying only on control and management measures is not enough; effective means of detection and neutralization are necessary.…”