Assessment of Performance Forecast and Monitoring Service for UAS

U-Space is a set of new airspace-management services and procedures designed to ensure unmanned aircraft’s airspace access while looking out for operational security, the right to privacy and the safety of persons and infrastructure. These services rely on a high level of digitization and function automation, whether on-board the drone itself or part of the ground-based environment. Several initiatives are now underway at European level to develop U-Space [1]and work towards the safe and efficient coexistence of manned and unmanned air traffic. At the same time the new European legislation on operating unmanned systems has now come into force, providing a uniform, Europe-wide framework [2], [3]. The European Commission project, called SUGUS, aims to analyse and propose EGNOS and Galileo as U-Space services for UAS/drones segment. The purpose of this document is to provide a summary of one of the main technical activities performed in the frame of the project to analyse the added value of a new EGNSS Performance Forecast and Monitoring Service (PFMS) for different UAS´s operations: - The analysis about gaps from user’s operational requirements the need of developing an EGNSS (Galileo and EGNOS) Performance Forecast and Monitoring Service has been identified. This analysis has helped to define and then implement in the frame of this project a new E-GNSS-based Application Programming Interface (API). This API aims to act as an interface between GNSS Prediction Servers and U-Space service providers and UAS operators. It would provide the interface for a new EGNSS PFMS, which would compute the expected EGNSS performances for a grid of users within a timeframe. - SUGUS will also be running a proof of concept trials in complex environments to prove the benefits from the proposed solutions to the drone-operation. The overarching idea is to demonstrate the added value of the proposed new service, to raise awareness and contribute towards drone standardization and regulation to maximize the chances of the proposed services being implemented as a U Space service.