Mehrnaz Sabet, a doctoral student in information science and principal investigator on the grant, said that looking at new traffic management systems for drones is not new, as NASA has led that effort for years. Currently, drone operators must file flight plans with a traffic management service for strategic deconfliction. According to Sabet, the current system is limited in handling the growing number of aircraft.
The research aims to enable tactical deconfliction, allowing drones to adjust routes in real time. Parimal Koperdekar, acting director of NASA’s Airspace Operations and Safety Program, said that Sabet and her team have demonstrated versatile skills involving software, algorithms, hardware, sensors, laboratory tests, simulations, and actual flight tests – a rare combination. The ultimate benefit of the research is the full realization of advanced air mobility.