Prototype Hierarchical UAS Traffic Management System in Taiwan

A prototype hierarchical UAV Traffic Management (UTM) system is designed and constructed in Taiwan for UAV flight surveillance. The UTM system is proposed for UAV performance below and above 400 feet based on CAA regulations. A general ADS-B Like communication infrastructure adopting multiple communication devices is designed and tested for wide coverage considering sub-urban and remote areas. Based on the UAV Specification Management System (SMS), the hierarchical UTM will accept UAV flight applications by qualification verification of pilot and UAV registrations, and proceed to check the flight plan. One of the ADS-B like communication choice shall be selected and equipped on airborne with pilot's mobile phone being pre-test before flight approval. A "UTM Cloud" is constructed for data exchange and accessing. Flight surveillance data are reported into the Cloud with limited authorization to access by simple encryption. The UTM Center establishes parallel computer system with multi-window to display all UAVs in flight operation. UTM-based Detect and avoid (DAA) is activated by calculating the time to conflict (TTC) when two UAVs are approaching into the same airspace. Traffic alerts to pilots via personal mobile phones will be sent by voice calls from UTM controller for avoidance. Since the proposed ADS-B Like communication can cover wider range, the Regional UTM and National UTM are integrated in one center during the initial operations while UAV traffic density is still low. The prototype UTM is tested and demonstrated under hierarchical architecture to assure UAV flight safety.