Air Traffic Control The Netherlands (LVNL), in partnership with Dutch Drone Delta, has successfully tested the transmission of air traffic control instructions to a UAS (unmanned aerial system) pilot via the GoDrone app, which is developed by Altitude Angel.
The trials, which took place in controlled airspace around Rotterdam – The Hague Airport under supervision by the airport control tower, allowed LVNL to gain knowledge and experience in order to further develop an operational UTM (unified traffic management) system for managing drones. Eventually, this will allow the creation of a complete air traffic control platform for drone operations.
The test system used in the trial was able to visualise the planned flight area, monitor the flight path of the reported drone flights in real time, issue and revoke clearances and instructions, and provide air traffic information to the drone pilot. The drone pilot was able to confirm the clearances and instructions via the GoDrone app, making it possible for air traffic controllers to guide drones during their flight. A drone transponder which transmits data to the UTM system via KPN’s 4G/5G network was also tested.
