In a March 1, 2016 article on integration of commercial unmanned aircraft into the US national airspace, Aviation International News, a leading industry publication, has offered this analysis of the FAA’s current strategy:
Excerpt from the article:As the FAA contemplates the introduction of small UAS to the national airspace system, NASA has licensed a new communication technology for the aircraft. NASA entered into an agreement with Vigilant Aerospace Systems to commercialize ADS-B and traffic situational awareness technology for UAS. The technology was developed under a NASA program that researched various means to facilitate unmanned and manned aircraft sharing national airspace. Vigilant will commercialize the technology under its FlightHorizon product suite.
Read the full article here: FAA Forms New ARC For Operation of Small UAS Over People – Aviation International News – March 1, 2016
Vigilant Aerospace is the leading developer of detect-and-avoid and airspace management software for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drones). The company’s product, FlightHorizon, is based on two NASA patents and uses data from multiple sources to display a real-time picture of the air traffic around a UAS and to provide automatic avoidance maneuvers to prevent collisions. The software is designed to meet industry technical standards, to provide automatic safety and to allow UAS to safely fly beyond the sight of the pilot. The software has won multiple industry awards and the company has had contracts and users at NASA, the FAA, the U.S. Department of Defense and with a variety of drone development programs. Visit our website at www.VigilantAerospace.com