Unified Traffic Management (UTM) technology provider Altitude Angel, will premiere a new generation of simulation modelling which the provider says “puts the airspace manager at the very heart of the flight.”

The simulation is designed to demonstrate how both crewed and uncrewed aircraft can safely co-exist in the skies, even those of busy urban areas.

As the UK-based developer says, the simulation is a ‘first of its kind’ for the UTM/ATM industry and will give air navigation service providers (ANSPs), U-Space regulators, and airspace managers a ‘virtual insight’ into what future airspace – one where crewed and uncrewed aircraft share the same skies safely and securely – and its digital management, enabled through Altitude Angel’s technology and platform, looks like.

To be introduced to the world for the first time at the Airspace World expo in Geneva, Switzerland (set for March 8-10), the simulation has been in the works for the greater part of a year, according Altitude Angel.

“Using a real-world use case of a Skyfarer drone making a critical delivery between two UK hospitals as its backdrop, the simulation is a digital twin of what the future will look like when Altitude Angel’s GuardianUTM platform and its ARROW ground-based DAA (Detect-and-Avoid) technology – which is the foundation technology behind the Skyway drone superhighway – is fused with real-world airspace data in real-time, which can be experienced through a virtual reality headset and 3D,” Altitude Angel said in a statement.

“Before getting airborne, the passenger will have the ability to see the flight being planned and the operation submitted, via the GuardianUTM platform Approval Services and Strategic Deconfliction functions. 

“Once in flight, the simulated environment fuses airspace data with real-time flight plans, managed by GuardianUTM, which performs real-time tactical deconfliction on simulated drones, just as it would in real life.”

Further, the company said passengers experiencing the simulation will be able to choose from which aspect of the scenario they wish to experience; that of a delivery drone, as a pilot in a general aviation (GA) aircraft or HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services)/blue light helicopter responding to an emergency, or in a UAM eVTOL craft flying alongside the delivery drone.

With the proliferation of drone technology – especially delivery drones that have made life easier for medical supply deliveries for a number of African countries – research has been widespread on how to integrate the drone safely into the atmosphere so they can use airspace alongside other aircraft.

Such research has resulted in the Skyway Drone Superhighway in the city od Reading in England, where there is a dedicated drone path for drones to follow.

Altitude Angel is one of the pioneers of the superhighway project, which came to life in 2021.

“Our immersive simulator is a first for the UTM/ATM industry,” said Richard Parker, Altitude Angel, CEO and founder.

“We’re taking airspace managers out of the control tower and placing them right in the heart of the flight.  From here, they’ll be able to look out of a cockpit window and see tactical deconfliction of a drone flight in real-time or even experience the flight from the drone’s perspective.

“The experience will also give airspace regulators a unique opportunity to see and understand what tomorrow’s skies will look like, which we hope will allow them to realise what can be achieved within current regulation as well as help inform and shape future regulation.”

Anyone wanting to experience Altitude Angel’s new-gen flight simulator can request a demonstration by clicking here.