A Collaborative U-space–Air Traffic Control Interface for Integrated Crewed and Uncrewed Air Traffic Situational Awareness and Decision Making

Kurzfassung

Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) are among the most promising technologies, with advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) used in UAS autonomy, UAS Swarming, and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations at Very Low Levels (VLL) below 500 feet. U-space is a digital traffic management system designed to integrate uncrewed aviation ensuring that all airspace users can operate safely and reliably within U-space airspace. Within this context, the German Aerospace Center (DLR) has been working on the internal research project Airspace REsearch Area U-space (AREA U-space), aiming to establish a U-space regulatory sandbox at the National Experimental Test Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems in Cochstedt, Germany. This work focuses on the development of DLR's internal U-space service Collaborative Interface with ATC (CI-ATC), which is necessary for safe operation and for integrating crewed and uncrewed operations to maintain current situational awareness of the airspace and support decision-making in the event of uncertainties. Firstly, the paper presents a collaborative Human–Machine Interface (HMI) that serves as the operational front end of the U-space service Collaborative Interface with ATC. The U-space Cochstedt geo-zones, published by the German Federal Aviation Office (LBA), Germany's civil aviation authority, are integrated into the HMI . Secondly, scenario-based experiments test how well an interface works in both simulated and real-time UAS operations under different traffic conditions. Thirdly, a workshop with tower controllers is organized to assess operational acceptance of the HMI, underscore the significance of their feedback in shaping the HMI, understand the conventional tower radar displays, identify functional gaps, and determine controller needs for mixed operations. Results from tower controllers´ feedback and the flight tests indicate that the HMI enhances controllers' awareness of uncrewed traffic and provides UAS safety pilots and ATC personnel with reliable information in the U-space airspace. Testing across several systems also identified practical issues and led to specific recommendations to improve the HMI and support future operational use.