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Our streets are crowded with commuters and delivery vehicles, but when a police car or fire engine approaches with its lights and sirens on, drivers clear the way. In the coming years, drones for deliveries and other commercial tasks will become common in the skies over our communities, and NASA is working to ensure first responder vehicles in the air get the same kind of clearance that they do on the ground.<\/p>\n
A recent flight exercise in the North Texas region showed how airspace prioritization tools could help first responder drones move quickly and safely through crowded skies. Researchers from NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California\u2019s Silicon Valley teamed up with local and state public safety agencies, industry partners, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to test how emergency crews could get priority airspace access in real time. The exercise is the latest collaboration between NASA and FAA in the area. North Texas is an FAA-designated region that allows for commercial drone deliveries to fly daily.<\/p>\n
When a police, fire, or rescue drone launched during the exercise, other drones would move aside. When multiple public safety organizations responded to simulated emergencies, their officials communicated to prioritize access for the right drones.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust as ambulances use lights and sirens to signal vehicles to move out of the way, public safety operators require the ability to share airspace safely,\u201d said Abhay Borade, a research lead for the Air Traffic Management and Safety project at NASA Ames. \u201cThe key is to prioritize safety of flight operations, while balancing the efficient use of the airspace for all operators.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Texas testing helped NASA better understand how commercial flights differ from public safety drone missions \u2013 emergency crews rarely fly predictable routes. During a search, a pursuit, or when scanning a dangerous environment, they may need to change direction suddenly.<\/p>\n
Researchers collected data on how unpredictable vehicle movements \u2013 demonstrated by having a drone follow an officer driving an SUV erratically, simulating a fleeing suspect in a vehicle chase \u2013 might affect nearby commercial drone activity. The result demonstrated NASA\u2019s development of air traffic systems and tools to prioritize public safety operators as commercial drone usage increases.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy working closely with industry and federal partners, we\u2019re helping build the data, tools, and traffic management frameworks needed to ensure the future of drone operations is safe, responsible, and scalable for everyone,\u201d said Shivanjli Sharma, Air Traffic Management and Safety project manager at NASA Ames. Participants involved in the demonstration included the drone airspace management companies Drone Sense, Avision, ANRA Technologies, as well as the FAA, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the police departments from the Texas cities of Fort Worth, Arlington, and Irving.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n