ASEC supports drone project with Google, Intel, NASA and partners
Unmanned aircraft operations at Virginia Tech this week field-tested technology designed to allow multiple aircraft to safely share the same airspace, paving the way for broader integration of these vehicles.
The flights were part of a national campaign to test an unmanned traffic-management research platform developed by NASA.
Widespread commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, will entail a variety of aircraft controlled by different operators conducting unrelated missions in the same airspace. A traffic management system, which could evaluate submitted flight plans, monitor aircraft in flight, and alert users to any changes or potentially hazardous conditions, will allow these varied operations to coexist smoothly, especially in the relatively limited low-altitude airspace targeted by most commercial operators.
