NASA announced the selection of Anzen Unmanned’s project entitled “Expeditionary BVLOS Infrastructure and UTM for Airborne Wildfire Response” for the Phase II SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program. This transformational project combines our proven Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) solutions and UAS Traffic Management (UTM) experience with OneSky’s UTM solution to overcome current operational limitations in airborne wildland fire and emergency response operations.
The Expeditionary BVLOS Kit and UTM Airspace Assistant will integrate with current wildland fire UAS, equipment, and airspace management, supplementing them with additional capability and safety. The solution provides a foundation for future growth, enabling more effective use of UAS, integrated ground and airborne infrastructure, enhanced airspace management, and transformative autonomy.
The Expeditionary BVLOS Kit provides a common foundation for UAS BVLOS operations and airspace surveillance:
Cooperative and uncooperative aircraft surveillance – detection, tracking, and alerting
Micro-weather surveillance and alerting
Local and wide-area communications
BVLOS UAS operations in all phases of wildland fire management (pre-, active-, and post-fire)
Built on Anzen Unmanned BVLOS approval blueprint used for multiple Part 107 BVLOS waivers and 44807 exemptions
Designed for BVLOS today and for adaptable for future BVLOS regulations
The UTM Airspace Assistant is an operations center on-premise UTM implementation that leverages the kit’s airspace surveillance, weather surveillance, and communications to:
Provide a composite airspace picture (both manned and unmanned)
Provide a composite micro- and macro-weather picture including real-time and predictive weather
Assist in identifying and mitigating conflict
Automate management of UAS operations
The solution will support both integrated and independent BVLOS UAS operations in all phases of wildland fire management (pre-, active-, and post-fire). Independent UAS BVLOS operations enable individual operations (e.g., pre-fire fuels survey) or when wide-area communications are not available (disconnected operations). When wide-area communications are available, the Expeditionary BVLOS Kit will provide its surveillance data to the UTM Airspace Assistant for incorporation into a composite situational awareness picture supporting manned and unmanned air operations management.
