ANRA technologies, ideaForge and Asteria Aerospace have demonstrated live tracking of drones in India’s national airspace. The demonstrations showcased two options; a software plugin as well as a small strap-on hardware module showcasing the various approaches possible for a tracking solution. Equipped with these capabilities, drones manufactured by ideaForge, Asteria Aerospace and ANRA were connected using ANRA’s SmartSkies Tracker Platform, enabling authorised users to view and track simultaneous drone operations happening in National Capital Region (NCR) and Bangalore.
As part of the demonstration, a drone manufactured and operated by Asteria Aerospace in Bangalore and another drone operated by ANRA in the NCR were integrated via the software plugin. A third drone manufactured and operated by IdeaForge was integrated using a strap-on hardware module, which showcased the diversity of integration options and a tracking solution.
Each of the drones were tracked in real-time with their locations and other associated flight details available on the SmartSkies Tracker App. Drone operators were able to turn the tracking option on or off and only authorised and privileged users were able to view the tracking information using the SmartSkies Tracker App.
Small drones are difficult to track using traditional methods such as radar and not every drone is connected using a solution that transmits its telemetry to a network that is subsequently shared. Using a software plugin at the drone’s control station or strap-on hardware that electronically shares the drone’s position and other associated details at regular intervals offers a new option and today’s demonstration successfully proved this capability in two different cities.
“Testing various solutions for Remote ID in the real world is a key first step towards arriving at a Remote ID ecosystem that delivers its objectives to Drone OEMs, operators & regulators. Using the strap-on device, we were able to derive key insights, which can help industry players recommend the right approach to building a Remote ID ecosystem within Indian unmanned airspace,” said Ankit Mehta, the CEO & Co-founder of ideaForge in the press release.
(Image: ANRA Technologies, with participation from ideaForge and Asteria, conducted flight trials incorporating new technology that permitted live tracking of drones via the internet)
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