Air Space Management of Autonomous Air Operations

This paper addresses air traffic management problems of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs) with a focus on autonomous operations. The sheer volume of UAS traffic will make it impossible for human air traffic controllers to ‘control’ safely. The colossal amount of data to be handled by the Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems would inevitably cause an increasing shift to autonomy (for control systems and UAS). Analysts predict that in two decades aviation will be totally autonomous. Clever and sophisticated technologies are needed to provide the interface between autonomous UAS and human/non-human controlling entities for safe and efficient operations.