U-space PODIUM

Kicking-off in early 2018, PODIUM (Proving Operations of Drones with Initial UTM) was the first Very Large Scale Demonstration project for U-space in the SESAR Horizon 2020 programme. Throughout 2018 and 2019, PODIUM performed U-space demonstrations for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) and VLOS flights at five operational sites in Europe, namely: Hans Christian Andersen airport, Odense; the Netherlands RPAS Test Centre, Marknesse; Groningen Airport Eelde; the Drones Paris Région cluster, Brétigny-sur-Orge; and Rodez-Aveyron airport. The main partners were EUROCONTROL, Airbus, DSNA, DELAIR, Drones Paris Region, Integra Aerial Services, Naviair, NLR, Orange, and Unifly. Over 20 small and medium sized drone companies participated " hands-on" in the project. PODIUM concluded that there was a strong demand from all stakeholders for U-space solutions that ease the burden of obtaining flight authorisations, and that increase situational awareness to enable safety and efficiency benefits during flight execution. PODIUM concluded that U-space services for the pre-flight phase were practically ready for deployment, but that significant action was needed to ensure that U-space services could really take-off in the flight execution phase. In particular, PODIUM has important recommendations relating to tracking, the human machine interface for drone pilots, and the access to trustworthy data. "Thanks to PODIUM, innovative drone pilots and manufacturers, air traffic controllers and nominal U-space supervisors have used U-space services and systems hands-on,” explained Peter Alty, the EUROCONTROL project coordinator, “providing the team with valuable insights on the ease-of-use, benefits, and areas for improvement.“ "Here's one I made earlier!" PODIUM published its conclusions and recommendations for U-space in November 2019. Click "Visit website" to access the final deliverables; click "Videos" for insights from the team and the sites.