A German firm in the northern city of Hamburg, says it’s studying drones and simulating how they intersect with other air traffic for safety .
DRONIQ, which was part-owned by state-run air traffic control (DFS) and Deutsche Telekom, on Tuesday, was set to start testing flights at its U-Space test site in Hamburg’s harbour area.
The U-Space was a delineated air space dedicated to testing drone traffic, according to special rules and procedures.
The aim was to help develop procedures that would allow drone flights to take place quickly, safely and without lengthy prior approval, DRONIQ said in a statement.
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“Among other things, the safe and coordinated interaction of manned and unmanned air traffic in the U-Space air space, set up in Hamburg is simulated .’’
The test flights included an emergency scenario in which a drone pilot has to avoid a helicopter flying into the test field at short notice.
“Other scenarios are testing several parallel drone flights, including registration and de-registration procedures, as well as route planning and the subsequent flight implementation.
“In order to fully utilise the economic potential of drones, they have to be easily and safely integrated into existing air traffic.
“The test flights mark the next step toward achieving that,’’ according to DRONIQ head Jan-Eric Putze.
The testing programme was partially subsidised by the Transport Ministry.
Source: dpa
