uAvionix and NASA have signed a Space Act Agreement to develop advanced Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Command and Control (C2) technologies for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) in urban environments.
Under the agreement, NASA will work with uAvionix to conduct research and development of commercial UAS C2 systems utilizing internet-based infrastructure and air traffic control frequencies.
NASA researchers will conduct flight testing at the UAS Flight Test Range at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. Flight data will be generated and evaluated on the uAvionix SkyLine C2 technology under the High Density Vertiplex (HDV) project.
“The HDV project is excited to partner with uAvionix to support the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) mission,” said Jacob Schaefer, HDV Technical Lead. “C2 technologies are critical to achieve the advanced flight operations envisioned within the future of AAM.”
According to uAvionix, the partnership, and associated technical work, is a great example of how NASA is working with industry to drive technology and innovation through the aviation industry.
This partnership is expected to significantly contribute support to the development of remotely piloted commercial passenger flight operations that rely on the performance of certified Control and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) link systems.
“uAvionix is proud to partner with NASA on this important project,” added Christian Ramsey, uAvionix Managing Director. “NASA’s collaboration will help advance the operational application of our skyLink5060 radios, an important step to facilitate AAM, especially passenger carrying vehicles and vertiports that will ultimately require certification.”
The performance and operational standards are currently being tested by several manufacturers and operators with use cases ranging from Urban Air Mobility (UAM) to long range cargo delivery.
Flight tests are planned between the summer of 2023 and summer of 2024 and will include technologies enabling advanced BVLOS operations.
