NASA UTM: A Giant Leap for Air Transportation

Just in the past few years, more than an estimated 700,000 unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, have been purchased and are flying around our skies. With the push for these unmanned aircraft to be used in our daily lives for tasks such as; delivering goods to our door steps, monitoring traffic on our highways, recreational uses and for medical needs to name just a few. Imagine what our world would look like in a few years if a dependable system of control was not put into place. Many have questions how such a dramatic change to the airspace will affect our lives and safety and with that, NASA has set out to create a research platform that will help manage large numbers of drones flying at low altitude along with other airspace users. Known as UAS Traffic Management, or UTM, the goal is to create a system that can integrate drones safely and efficiently into air traffic that are already flying in low altitude airspace. With UTM, package delivery and recreational flights won’t interfere with helicopters, airplanes, nearby airports, or even safety drones being flown by first responders. On this episode of NASA X we will examine this award winning UTM technology and see how it works and better comprehend this innovative system. We will also take a look at the dedicated NASA team at various field centers and its government and industry partners to understand the work accomplished developing and testing new software in real-world research. We will see the system in action, and find out when these new innovations will come online.

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Question left unanswered from the live chat: From @EvasiveWig can drones replace cars for transportation? Answer: Hi @EvasiveWig! its possible and were looking into it! Prototypes are flying now but not yet carrying passengers. More info on Advanced Air Mobility: www.nasa.gov/aam -Jaewoo Jung Acting PM for UTM Project.