Co-creating an Unmanned Aircraft Traffic Management (UTM) platform with a $150 billion conglomerate

The Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) industry is only going to get bigger and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) projects that the industry will add $82 million to the U.S. economy by 2025. 

The primary concerns for companies and new products entering the foray must not only deliver on the UAV requirements, but also on safety, privacy, and security requirements that come with.

A $150 billion conglomerate Venture Wing partnered with us to launch a one-of-a-kind Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UTM) to navigate the complexities, ambiguity, and de-risk innovation without compromising on technical production quality or speed. This company is also one of the only 49 companies that has consistently held it’s position as a Fortune 500 organization since its inception. 

Woes and concerns of UAV industry

The unmanned aviation industry faces numerous challenges, and every unmanned vehicle pilot must carefully consider the following concerns before each flight:

● Unauthorized access to drones, which can result in misuse, privacy violations, and public disturbances

● Human error during remote drone control can impose risk to human life and property, creating a need for proper training and advanced monitoring technologies

● Operating drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLoS) poses significant challenges such as navigating terrain obstacles, buildings, power lines, etc.

● Coordination with other flights is crucial to avoid conflicts and ensure safe and efficient operations in the airspace

There was a pressing need for a comprehensive, single-source platform with safety and operational protocols and services built-in, providing full situational awareness of unmanned vehicles to its operators, especially for first responder and disaster management use cases. As Christopher Todd, Executive Director of the Airborne International Response Team (AIRT) points out:

“Emergency response remote pilots can’t afford to waste time toggling between multiple software applications when lives are on the line. They need a reliable, one-stop solution that can handle the mission at hand.”

Zemoso's contributions - addressing the challenges head-on

We collaborated with the Fortune 500 company’s innovation accelerator and incubation wing to identify the most urgent and high-value problem for UAVs — How might we empower drone operators to safely function in low altitude airspace while adapting to the continuously changing eco-system in near real-time — and achieve problem/solution fit as early as possible. 

Our approach to rapid launch

• Validate: GV-inspired advanced design sprints to translate stakeholder vision into demo-able artifacts and align internally and ensure that the final product meets user needs and stakeholders’ vision.
• Launch: Architect, iterate, test, implement feedback, and then launch beta in 2 months with fast and frequent releases of functionalities.  
• Grow: Pressure test and improve the platform with an event-driven + microservices architecture for security and scalability that could support telemetry from 1000s of drones simultaneously without compromising safety. 
• Expand: Adapt and expand functionality of the core solution for diverse use cases for first responders, EnergyTech, disaster management, etc. The platform could be used in various scenarios, making it a versatile tool for different industries and use cases.

The ultimate solution was a centrlaized platform equipped with practical operational tools and operational oversight, compliance and flight authorization processes. It also had the ability to provide airspace advisories, video streaming, and full Situational Awareness — eliminating the need for multiple applications and improving airspace visibility even BVLoS.

Wins we celebrated

● Became 1 of the only 9 approved Unmanned Aviation System by FAA-LAANC that year

● Enabled the first successful human organ delivery by a drone in the U.S 

● Became an official NASA Program Partner

● Became a partner for Florida’s emergency responders for a post disaster survey

● Raised $30 million in investments

An unprecedented UTM platform - Features we delivered

Our partnerships goals were clear from Day 1 — to make a new, unmanned way of moving possible, for packages, medical delivery, inspections, and public safety. So, we infused next generation air traffic management technology with world-class aviation expertise and agile execution. The final version of the product was equipped with the following features, making it fit to be used by energytech companies for inspection, and public safety agencies for emergency response.

Operational oversight via a centralized platform

We delivered a highly secure, cloud-based platform that enabled users to plan, schedule and monitor all flights. Moreover, we equipped the platform with all the tools one may need to fly with complete confidence like full visibility for both Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS), and analytics like flight logs. The platform also offers geofence capabilities to enable first responders to block volumes of space as No-fly Zone (NFZ) for their operations and alert others subscribed to that space to prevent conflict. 

Trajectory Projection (TP) Service

The platform offered TP services for generating 3D volumes of space encompassing the flight route and predict optimal flight path from the start and end point to enable safe travels. 

Deconfliction 

For safe separation and avoidance of potential conflicts between drones and foreign objects in the airspace, we added the deconfliction functionality. The system would interact with the US air transportation network to collect and store all flight plans and minimize possibilities of potential collision. Moreover, we enabled the system to avoid colliding in unfamiliar terrains by incorporating UAS Facility Maps and FAA-ArcGIS. 

Flight analytics and insights

The UTM platform also provides actionable intelligence and analytics data to help users better manage assets. With inspection insights, like flight logs, performance, fault tolerance, etc., users get a comprehensive picture of how assets (drones) are performing at any time.

Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) support

We built the LAANC system at lightning fast speed in 3 months.The platform was well capable to plan and exchange information regarding low altitude flights near airports with the FAA. It would notify pilots in case a planned airspace is no longer available due to other operations. Ultimately, LAANC support facilitated smooth UAV operations near airports. 

Conformance monitoring

To enhance security of unmanned vehicles, we added conformance monitoring that involves near real-time monitoring of drone flights and ensure the drone operators’ compliance with FAA-LAANC regulations. In case of non-compliance, the system promptly sends alerts to the pilot and central ground station. All the stakeholders will be notified in the case of non-conformance via push notifications, and SMS to enable quick response. We successfully complied with ever-evolving FAA regulations for 3 consecutive years. 

In Conclusion

Our successful collaboration on DroneTech and UAV serves as a testament to Zemoso's ability to navigate the challenging and often unpredictable landscape of innovation within strict timeframes. Whether we're creating a groundbreaking new solution or refining an existing one, our self-organized agile prods prove to be exceptional innovation partners. With a dedication to excellence and a passion for pushing the boundaries of what's possible, Zemoso consistently delivers remarkable results.

Contact us to learn more about how we can help you bring your product innovation to the next level.