ITS in the sky! Drones as part of our future transport systems

Where: Lisbon Congress Centre, Session Room: Room 1.8
When: 24.5.2023 at 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

ERTICO – ITS Europe and Lisboa Câmara Municipal will proudly host the 15th ITS European Congress in Lisbon, Portugal, from 22 May to 24 May 2023. The event will take place at the Lisbon Congress Centre.

In the coming years, a dramatic increase is expected in drone flights. A new mode of transport for goods and people becomes part of our daily lives and should also become part of daily traffic management practices in cities. Integrating the third dimension – airspace – into legacy traffic management systems is a true paradigm change. 

Low level air traffic coming to cities brings along a new vocabulary, range of safety requirements and regulations that previously did not exist. In parallel, stakeholders – from industry and regulatory bodies – unfamiliar with city practices and traditional ground traffic management need to find their way to the right counterparts in a city. So, the industry is pushing forward but there is a lack of readiness on the local level: how to approach this challenge? What kind of new ITS initiatives could mitigate risks related to safety or economic sustainability? 

In this SFS, Petri Mononen of VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland focuses on urban airspace management and roles of cities. What are the intelligent digital services that can help ensure safe and efficient access to airspace for large numbers of drones? What capabilities should be developed and are realistic to demand from a local authority or are for the market? 

Lisa van der Heijden the Netherlands of the Flying Forward 2020 project speaks about the importance of involving a wide range of essential stakeholders when using Living Labs for drone demonstration and integration. A deepdive will be made into the creation of readiness for (local) authorities to integrate the third dimension. 

Silvio Semanjski of SEAL Aero in Spain sheds light on technical challenges related to the roll-out of Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management. How to safely and securely manage airspace traffic and capacity? What kinds of safety-critical technologies are needed to support (autonomous) drone operations in urban environments?

The moderator in the discussion will be Renske Martijnse-Hartikka of Forum Virium Helsinki.

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Lisbon is part of Europe’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem and enjoys global recognition as a welcoming destination. ITS has already made transportation much more efficient, demand-responsive and safe. This, combined with ERTICO’s work on promoting and developing smart mobility services, promises a fantastic programme, innovative live demos and a great experience overall.