A Comparison of Traffic Organization Methods for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Abstract

Small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS), better known as “drones,” have been drastically increasing in ownership and popularity during recent times. While this technology was once restricted to military and hobbyist use, numerous public and private-sector groups have proposed new uses, such as package delivery and firefighting. As the number of sUAS in operation increases, the methods currently utilized to manage sUAS traffic flow are expected to become inadequate; thus, it is necessary to develop an alternate system of sUAS traffic management. This paper proposes a computerized simulation methodology to quantitatively evaluate air traffic management methods based on safety, efficiency, and computational intensity. This methodology is then used to test the current organization method against free competition for available airspace and a freeway-style method of traffic organization known as an “air highway.” It was ultimately found that these alternate methods of organization are less foolproof than the current method with regards to safety, but are significantly more practical to implement due to reduced computational intensity; additionally, these methods are sometimes capable of reducing travel time.