AeroX seeks low-altitude surveillance system to support urban drone operations in North Carolina
AeroX is seeking information from companies to provide a ground-based surveillance system to support low-altitude traffic management and to expand drone operations in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, North Carolina.
Project air traffic low-altitude surveillance (Project Atlas) will enable routine use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to deliver goods and provide services in urban areas, with the ability to fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the operator, which requires the ability to detect and avoid aircraft operating below 400 feet.
Project Atlas focusses on providing surveillance data on ‘non-cooperative aircraft’ without transponders, which could help other aircraft to detect and avoid them to support drone operators seeking Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval to operate BVLOS.
It will also help other manufacturers and operators validating new detect-and-avoid systems to capture data for regional forecasting and planning for advanced drone operations, with lessons learned to be used to expand drone operations to other urban areas of North Carolina.
AeroX President Basil Yap said: “Flying BVLOS has been a goal of the UAS industry and the FAA and North Carolina has been a leader in advancing that goal, where we intend to build on that leadership to usher in a new era of air transportation.”
AeroX aims to acquire, install, validate and test its low-altitude surveillance system by the end of 2022 and to be operational in early 2023.
AeroX will host a two-day Industry Day on May 24–25 to answer industry questions, allow respondents to view the coverage area and provide a demonstration of a UAS medical package delivery operation.
Last December, the North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) awarded AeroX a $5 million grant to design and develop an urban advanced air mobility system through the North Carolina Department of Transportation Division of Aviation.
