Project BLUEPRINT

Project dates: 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2024

About the Project

Recent BVLOS projects have focused on operating in Temporary Danger Areas (TDAs) which are both temporary, closed off to other airspace users, and are not scalable, making commercialisation challenging. To transition to persistent and routine operations, beyond visual light of sight (BVLOS) drones need to be fully integrated with other airspace users within “shared airspace” rather than within “segregated airspace”.

Please Note: Funding available is the grant value awarded by Innovate UK.

Project Activities

To achieve this, there are six key challenges which the project aims to overcome:

• Development of airspace which is inclusive to all airspace users.
• Effective governance to manage aviation stakeholders.
• Development of scalable detect and avoid (DAA) solutions.
• Integration and development of a uncrewed aircraft systems traffic management (UTM) minimum viable product.
• Integration of drones within an airport environment.
• Development of airworthiness and software assurance requirements for enabling technologies.

BLUEPRINT aims to solve these problems, creating an approach for routine and persistent BVLOS drone operations within the UK via a series of capability blueprints:

• Airspace – Shared Airspace Zone via mandated Electronic Conspicuity and use of UTM Apps
• Governance – An industry body which incorporates senior leaders across the whole aviation sector, to help form a consensus on rules for shared airspace
• Detect and Avoid – Distributed surveillance and tracking service integrated with Command Units
• UTM – Building on the Connected Places Catapult Open Access Framework and ASTM standards of interoperability.
• Aerodrome – Further development of project Atomicus (previously co-funded through Phase 2 of the Future Flight Challenge) for airport integration.
• Regulatory – Assurance standards for manufacturers, software providers and drone operators

Benefits

Outputs from Project BLUEPRINT will have applications to several use cases, particularly within the specific category for multi-rotor, single-rotor, and fixed-wing drones up to 500kg. The primary aim of the project is to provide regulators, technology providers and operators with a blueprint for UK-wide rollout of BVLOS drone operations which can be commercialised at scale. The blueprint will allow stakeholders to design, plan and build routine and persistent BVLOS drone capabilities which could be exported on a European level.

To find out more about the project, please contact Innovate UK Business Connect’s Knowledge Transfer Manager for Aviation.

Project Partners

• Neuron Innovations
• Adjsoft (DroneCloud)
• ANRA Technologies
• Cranfield Airport
• Cranfield University
• Distributed Avionics
• Ebeni
• Future Aerial
• Sky-Drones
• TÜV SÜD (UK)
• University of Southampton