RWTH: RWTH Institute leads research project on airspace integration of automatic flight systems

As part of the mFUND innovation initiative, the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport is funding the project “European UAV-supported transport solutions for medical goods”, or EULE for short. In the Rhenish Revier and in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine border area, highly automated unmanned aerial vehicles are to move pharmaceuticals, blood and tissue samples quickly, safely and efficiently between dealers, hospitals and laboratories. The Institute for Flight System Dynamics at RWTH Aachen University, headed by Professor Dieter Moormann, is the consortium leader of the project.

The results of the EU project “SAFIR-med 13” will be expanded in EULE from a one-time demonstration to a regular operation. The focus is on aspects of 5G networked data management, data protection and the development and integration of new data sources.

The RWTH institute works in particular on the airspace integration of automatic flight systems. Research is carried out to avoid collisions with manned aircraft, such as rescue helicopters. The aircraft must independently recognize conflicts and take them into account in flight path planning. Critical areas such as densely populated inner cities or nature reserves, for example, should not be overflown. The university institute is also involved in the development of the system architecture, the development of the interface between the flight system and the platform on the ground, and the construction of a control room for the central control and monitoring of the flight systems.

FlyXdrive GmbH, Docs in Clouds TeleCare GmbH, City of Aachen, Droniq GmbH, Aachen University of Applied Sciences, RWTH Aachen University Hospital and Vodafone GmbH are involved in the EULE research project. Together with the Institute for Flight System Dynamics, they want to establish the Rhenish Revier as an economic and scientific location for drone technologies.