• Number: 746/PP/GRO/RCH/19/11305

This project aims to increase the use of the European global navigation satellite systems (EGNSS) Galileo and EGNOS in the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) market.  It will put in place the necessary means at service provision level for facilitating the operational use of EGNSS by operators and their approval by aviation authorities. The project will focus on the Open and Specific categories.

Improvements to the EGNOS and Galileo service provision layer are to be assessed from the user point of view, taking into account the particular needs of the drone market and its regulatory framework (e.g. SORA). This project will not assess how these improvements can be implemented into changes to the EGNOS and/or Galileo system or service provision layers (i.e. EGNOS Service Provider and Galileo Operator).

In particular, the project will look at:

• building on the results of other EGNSS projects, which can facilitate the penetration of EGNOS and Galileo into the UAS market, both for the Open and the Specific categories.
• meeting Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) service provider and operator needs in complex operations, including but not limited to Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight and urban.
• performing a gap analysis between the elements already implemented in EGNSS Programmes and the need for the fast acceptance of an additional service in U-Space.
• performing an impact analysis on the service provision layer for the facilitation of the use of EGNSS in U-Space and, more specifically, for the mitigation of risks in the Specific category. This may include analysing changes in programme documentation (Service Definition Documents (SDD), Service Implementation Roadmap (SIR), etc.), tailoring of performance products (e.g. service performance maps), upgrades to  helpdesk/assistance for users (in a broad sense), or updates of other information made available to users by EGNSS programmes.
• defining and implementing an Application Programming Interface (API) for EGNSS which could be called upon by UTM service providers, UAS designers or UAS systems developers, and integrated into existing commercial solutions.
• performing a proof of concept by executing flight trials in a complex environment (Specific Category). These trials are aimed at demonstrating the added value to drone operations from the measures implemented at service provision level and the new EGNSS API. Among these benefits is the ability to mitigate operation risks and the facilitation of mission preparation and authorisation processes by the operator.
• Mapping the one-to-one correspondence of EGNSS services/features (likely integrated with other sensor technologies) to deliver specific performance to open/specific drones for:
  • navigation
  • surveillance
  • tracking
  • geo-fencing/geo-caging
  • e-identification

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