Call for Proposals: Fast-Track U3 U-Space Advanced Services and CNS Capabilities

Scope

• The following list of R&I needs is proposed as an illustration of the potential project content, but it is not meant as prescriptive. Proposals may include other research elements beyond the proposed research elements below if they are justified by their contribution to achieve the expected outcomes of the topic and are fully aligned with the development priorities defined in the European ATM Master Plan.
  • Collaborative interface with ATC: dynamic airspace reconfiguration (ATM/U-space)
    • Research shall further develop dynamic airspace reconfiguration (DAR) concept to facilitate that UAS traffic can access ATC controlled areas, ensuring the safe separation of UAS and crewed operations. Research objective is to develop a highly dynamic, responsive, and granular delegation of portions of controlled airspace in the ATM–U-space shared airspace (AUSA) to either ATC or U-space control, subject to ATM and U-space operational demands respectively. Research shall address the definition of ATM and UTM responsibilities and may address the impact on ATM and UTM capacity. AUSA is a region of controlled airspace where airspace delegation between ATM and U-space can occur.
  • Operation of open and certified drones in controlled airspace without dynamic airspace reconfiguration (DAR)
    • This element aims at creating a concept for the operation of drones in controlled airspace that is not AUSA. It can also be used in AUSA as an alternative to DAR, e.g. to allow the operation of a single drone for which DAR is not practical. The first target use case is the operation of drones at controlled airports, e.g. for airport service activities (surveillance, delivery, NAVAID calibration). In this case, the drone will follow an ATC clearance. Communication between the drone pilot and ATC will be facilitated by a U-space service. The research must establish whether direct communication between the drone pilot is required. Acceptable clearances and minimum performance requirements for the drone may be required for this kind of operations, and the drone pilot may be required to undergo specific training (e.g. similarly to what is required for operating airport vehicles).
  • Enhanced drone flight authorisation processes
    • As per the current regulation, to operate a flight in U-space airspace the operator must submit a drone flight plan to the U-space service provider (USSP), which the USSP must issue an authorisation for. For a flight plan to be accepted/authorised, it needs to comply with all known airspace constraints (e.g., geographical zones) and be strategically deconflicted from other drone flight plans.
  • U-space tactical separation management service for drones
    • Separation is defined as the tactical process of maintaining drones above the separation minima (between themselves or between a drone and a restricted access geozone). When it is foreseen that the distance will be below the separation minima (based on the information available from a trajectory prediction based on tracking and flight plan information), the tactical separation service will provide a modification of the trajectory to the drone or drones involved through the USSPs. When the trajectory of two or more drones needs to be modified, more than one USSP may need to be involved.
  • Enhanced ground risk assessment
    • The aim of the research is to provide automated support for the assessment of the ground risk of drone operations (the proposal should provide means to obtain the dynamic population density as per specific operations risk assessment (SORA) 2.5 plus subsequent versions, and also explore other risks and inputs useful to be included in enhanced guidelines to perform airspace risk assessment (ARA)).
  • Enhanced geofencing service
    • Geofencing allows U-space geographical zones with restricted access to be loaded into a drone pre-departure, potentially including mandatory update before each take-off, and may also include in-flight update. The concept includes the prevention of non-authorised flight at the level of the drone software. Geofencing is a useful mechanism to prevent accidental unauthorised entry into areas where drone flight is restricted, increasing safety levels (for example around airports and over sensitive areas over critical infrastructure or securitysensitive areas, etc.). The technology is mature and standardized (ED-269, ED-270 and ED318), but there is a need to set up the framework to allow its widespread adoption. The gaps include database management framework, legal and liability issues, U-space services to process users’ authorisation to fly inside a restricted zone and specific processes to allow full access to state drones (e.g., police drones, border control, etc.). Note that geofencing is an option in the current regulation within the geo-awareness service.
  • Low-ground-risk DAA-based drone operations in drone only geozones
    • The objective of these research is to develop and validate a concept for the operation for small drones to operate over areas where there is no crewed aviation and with low-groundrisk without a requirement for pre-departure strategic deconfliction, where collisions between drones are prevented by the on-board DAA systems. When two drones are in conflict, the two DAA systems could coordinate with each other, for example based on a wifi connection as considered by previous SESAR project PERCEVITE. The concept must include a process for flight authorisation without strategic deconfliction of the planned 4D volumes, which could consider a DCB process to ensure a maximum density of operations as part of the criteria for approval. The capacity of airspace should be dynamically defined, e.g. there would be a default capacity, but it could be reduced in case of an increase in the ground risk (e.g., seasonally or due to an event) or the air risk, or under certain meteorological conditions
  • Altimetry for drones in very low level (VLL)
    • The objective of this research element is to provide altimetry solutions for drones. Both barometric and geometric altimetry solution should be considered. The research must study the comparative benefits of barometric vs. geometric altimetry for drones and investigate the operational impact of having drones with barometric and geometric altimeters flying in the same airspace volume (e.g. buffers in the separation minima to account for the different reference systems), and the comparability with QNH-corrected altimeter readings from certified aircraft.
  • Separation between uncontrolled crewed VFR flights and drones
    • According to the standardised European rules of the air (SERA), except for take-off and landing, crewed aircraft must maintain an altitude of 1000 ft. or above the highest obstacle within a radius of 600 m when flying over cities, towns or settlements or over an open-air assembly of persons, and 500 ft. or above elsewhere. The U-space regulation allows BVLOS flights in U-space airspace subject to flight authorisation and specific operations risk assessment (SORA). U-space airspace is typically expected to be designated to cover up to 500 ft, but a higher boundary is also possible. The objective of the research is to investigate a concept to mitigate the risk of collision between crewed VFR aircraft and drones, examining different use cases
  • Multidimensional optimised U-space flight planning and authorisation processes
    • Work is required to ensure that the new operations enabled by U-space are acceptable to the public. Specific areas of concern will be innovative air mobility (IAM) noise, visual pollution, privacy, urban and rural development, protection of natural environments, employment generation, etc. The introduction and growth of IAM must be carefully assessed and managed to ensure equity and sustainable improvement with regards to quality of life.
  • Counter-UAS (C-UAS) systems’ services for airport operations
    • The presence of drones in and around an airport can significantly affect flight operations and pose risks to the surrounding area. To ensure the safety of the airport, it is essential to detect and report drones, and appropriate measures should be implemented to address potential accidents or incidents.
  • U-space advanced data exchange and communication service.
    • The primary objective is to investigate existing data requirements and develop innovative solutions to support a harmonised and interoperable U-space data exchange and communication service. The research shall cover the identification of necessary data and information to ensure the interoperability of current U-space services, as well as, the design of guidelines, communication protocols and data management strategies required to enable the full deployment of harmonised/interoperable U-space services.
  • Infrastructure monitoring services
    • Research addresses the development of infrastructure monitoring services, including:
      • Navigation infrastructure monitoring service: the service is expected to provide up to date status information about navigation infrastructure. This service is intended to be used before and during operations. The service should give warnings of loss of navigation accuracy. Specifically, the GNSS service retrieves data from the EGNOS data access service (EDAS), from the Reference Stations database and, through the USSP API, from the U-Space Tracking and Monitoring service provided by the USSP. Once all the necessary data have been obtained, the service can provide GNSS signal monitoring, position velocity and time (PVT) and Integrity calculation. This service may also distribute correction information coming from augmentation services, and even real time kinematic (RTK) augmentation as appropriate.
      • Communication infrastructure monitoring service: the service is expected to provide up to date status information about communication infrastructure. This service is intended to be used before and during operations. The service should give warnings of degradation of communications infrastructure.
  • Mitigation of noise impacts of open and specific category drones
    • This element covers the development of a framework to assess the noise annoyance caused by small drones and propose and validate mitigation strategies, with a focus on mitigation strategies that may be applicable in the short term, e.g. establishing minimum flying altitudes or maximum speeds.

Funding Information

• Budget (EUR) – Year 2025: 20 000 000
• Contributions: 2000000 to 5000000
• The maximum project duration is 36 months.

Expected Outcomes

• To significantly advance the following development actions:
  • IR-6-01 U3 U-space advanced services addressing aspects such as common altitude reference, collaborative interface with ATC, tactical conflict detection and resolution, fairness in strategic deconfliction, etc.

Eligibility Criteria

• Entities eligible to participate:
  • Entities eligible to participate Any legal entity, regardless of its place of establishment, including legal entities from nonassociated third countries or international organisations (including international European research organisations) is eligible to participate (whether it is eligible for funding or not), provided that the conditions laid down in the Horizon Europe Regulation have been met, along with any other conditions laid down in the specific call/topic.
  • A ‘legal entity’ means any natural or legal person created and recognised as such under national law, EU law or international law, which has legal personality and which may, acting in its own name, exercise rights and be subject to obligations, or an entity without legal personality .
• Entities eligible for funding :
  • To become a beneficiary, legal entities must be eligible for funding. To be eligible for funding, applicants must be established in one of the following countries:
    • the Member States of the European Union, including their outermost regions:
      • Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.
    • the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) linked to the Member States:
      • Aruba (NL), Bonaire (NL), Curação (NL), French Polynesia (FR), French Southern and Antarctic Territories (FR), Greenland (DK), New Caledonia (FR), Saba (NL), Saint Barthélemy (FR), Sint Eustatius (NL), Sint Maarten (NL), St. Pierre and Miquelon (FR), Wallis and Futuna Islands (FR).
    • countries associated to Horizon Europe;
      • Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

For more information, visit EC.