Evaluating technologies and mechanisms for the automated/autonomous operation of UAS in non-segregated airspace

This paper focuses on several aspects of the UASATM interaction that have not been previously addressed: separation assurance, contingency reaction and lost link procedures; as well as the evaluation of the trade-off between automated and autonomous UAS operations. These aspects will definitely determine the effectiveness of the UAS integration performing the aforementioned surveillance missions. Our research intents to investigate such relationships and how current ADS-B or future technology may support them. Beyond the conceptual perspective, a simulation environment is being developed to provide functional and quantitative measures to the study of the UAS– ATM interaction. UAS operations are modeled and reproduced in great detail through a wide set of real-time simulations. UAS behavior is being coupled with an ATC simulation environment that will allow to explore the UAS behavior to contingencies, conflicting traffic and ATC requests in real time.