“We envision that SkyGrid will be the world’s most trusted airspace management system that enables varied missions conducted by varying drones of all flights and making the future safe, secure and accessible”
Navigating the airspace is complex and often risky. Drone operators must account for a wide range of factors that can change rapidly. Micro-weather can change instantly. A new flight restriction could be issued. Or an emergency helicopter could suddenly conflict with the route. It’s simply not feasible for humans alone to monitor, track and manage drones safely and efficiently with the current technologies available to them.
SkyGrid’s Airspace Awareness application enables drone operators to understand the airspace, predict environmental changes, and avoid hazardous conditions. With a 3D airspace map and multiple data layers, including airspace traffic, flight restrictions, hyper-local weather, obstacle data, roadway traffic, and more, the application shows a smarter, more complete picture of the sky and the ground below.
By powering SkyGrid’s application with artificial intelligence and blockchain technology, we’re eliminating the potential for human error. For example, smart conditions within Airspace Awareness help enterprises ensure safe and compliant drone operations. Organizations can set company-wide conditions that apply to all flights in addition to custom parameters for specific missions, drones, or payloads.
These conditions can be set based on various factors, such as local regulations, weather, or vehicle health. Conditions could include ensuring regulatory standards, such as flying below 400 feet and avoiding areas near airports, while custom parameters for specific drones or payloads could include flying with at least 40 percent battery life or flying under 25 mph winds. SkyGrid blockchain technology, augmented with smart contracts that operate under performance guarantees, validates the conditions and only authorizes flights that meet all parameters.
This approach prevents pilots from selecting a mission or drone that doesn’t meet the required safety conditions set by an organization. Once a route is approved, commercial fleet managers and pilots will receive real-time alerts if a condition is at risk of violation during flight. The blockchain maintains a minute-by-minute record of each drone’s status and flight details, including altitude, location, operator, and maintenance history.
SkyGrid’s AerialOS™ is an end-to-end airspace management system that uses AI and blockchain to intelligently route, synchronize, and maintain unmanned aircraft in shared airspace. The platform identifies unforeseen trends in airspace, vehicle, and environment data to safely enable advanced air mobility and a wide variety of commercial drone operations. They monitor, predict, and adapt to changing conditions to fill gaps unaccounted for in traditional UTM solutions.
SkyGrid’s platform leverages AI and blockchain to make the entire flight process safer and easier. The system is built on SparkCognition’s advanced AI technology to help maintain the safety and security of our airspace. Their AI algorithms can analyze crucial data, such as airspace traffic, weather forecasts, roadway traffic, and vehicle performance, to automatically generate optimal flight plans and autonomously adapt flights as conditions change. For extra safeguard measures, operators can approve the new flight plan before execution. AI technology can more reliably analyze complex data layers to uncover hidden trends and adapt flights in the rapidly changing airspace.
The company’s mission is to safely integrate all unmanned aerial vehicles, including everything from small package delivery drones to passenger air taxis, in the global airspace.
- SkyGrid’s mission is to safely and intelligently power the next generation of autonomous aviation.
- SkyGrid’s vision is to become the world’s most trusted airspace management system that integrates all unmanned aircraft in the global airspace.
Hence they are powering their application with global airspace intelligence from world-leading sources. They are also partnering with regulators and standards bodies across the globe to stay up to date on the latest regulatory standards and initiatives. Backed by Boeing, an aviation pioneer, and SparkCognition, an AI innovator, they too can be the most trusted drone management system that all commercial pilots and aviation authorities can rely on to navigate the airspace with confidence.
In an instance, SkyGrid recently collaborated with Austin Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Along with EMS, SkyGrid aimed to enhance the search and rescue operations in greenbelts around the city with the help of drones. Existing operations are time-consuming and costly, with a high risk to human life. SkyGrid worked with EMS to develop an application that is easy to use and allows a single operator to launch multiple drones at the same time to conduct a coordinated search. The application shows the operator multiple video feeds, and we can also add object detection to detect humans on the ground. Together, they are saving lives with drones.
SkyGrid envisions a future where manned and unmanned aircraft would exist in the same airspace and enable the same. “We envision that SkyGrid will be the world’s most trusted airspace management system that enables varied missions conducted by varying drones of all flights and making the future safe, secure and accessible,” says Zehra Akbar, Vice President, Strategy & Operations of SkyGrid.
