The world’s largest drone highway gets the green light
The world’s largest drone highway gets the green light
Companies in areas along the highway can deploy drones with the push of a button
The world’s largest automated drone highway has been given the green light to be operational in the UK in just two years.
The network is 165 miles long and will connect cities in the English Midlands and South East, including Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry, and Rugby.
A total of $15.4 million in funding for the project – known as the Skyway – has been confirmed by the UK government as part of a $327 million package to support the country’s aviation industry.
The consortium behind the Skyway – which includes unified traffic management (UTM) solutions provider Altitude Angel, British Telecom’s mobile network EE, and others – says the motorway will have the huge potential offered by drones in Britain.
It will operate through a ground-based, networked, detection and avoidance (DAA) solution that builds on existing infrastructure, is connected to the global Altitude Angel UTM system, and brings data from multiple sources in real-time. time to become a moving card. in heaven. Businesses in cities and towns along the highway can benefit from deploying drones at the push of a button to deliver goods, help with logistics or manage the road network.
Skyway will accelerate this by enabling unmanned drones that do not require an operator to fly beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS). Drone manufacturers will connect the monitoring and communication systems of their drones to a virtual superhighway, using software integration to guide them safely through the corridors to their destination.
And with ground sensors, instead of the drones themselves providing the guidance, the payload of the drones will be reduced, possibly increasing their flight range.
“The capability we’re providing and validating through Skyway could change the way we transport and travel things in a way not seen since the advent of the railway in the 18th century: the last ‘revolution in transport,'” Altitude said. Angel CEO and founder Richard Parker
“The ARROW® technology we’ve built here is an innovation – it’s the foundation of Skyway and the only scalable, practical mechanism to begin safely and fairly integrating drones into our daily lives,” he said. nothing. British Telecom’s director of drones, Dave Pankhurst, said mobile connectivity and a secure, robust 4G and 5G mobile network will enable continued rapid growth in the drone market.
“Through our EE network, BT provides the largest and most reliable Project Skyway network in the UK, keeping drones connected to ARROW® so they can receive more situational information and tactical instructions to avoid collisions from the autopilot system as well as streaming important video feeds.” like search and rescue footage back to the control rooms,” he said.
Other recipients of UK government funding include Open Skies Cornwall, which received $2.8 million to work with Royal Mail and the NHS to use drones to deliver mail and medical supplies to residents of the Isles of Scilly. Earlier this year, Royal Mail revealed its plans to launch a fleet of 500 autonomous drones.