India's first drone traffic management system — Skye UTM

India launched its first indigenous drone traffic management system in February 2023. The system is Skye UTM, developed by Skye Air Mobility. Skye Air Mobility is a leading drone delivery company in India. It has simplified drone delivery services across multiple logistics solutions, including e-commerce, agro-commodities, fast-track commerce, healthcare, etc. UTM, which stands for Unmanned Traffic Management System (UTM), is unique in several ways. The system was initially designed to reduce response time (TAT) for consumers and Skye Air Mobility customers.

Skye UTM India's First Drone Traffic Management System

Due to some of its unique features and capabilities, UTM is expected to change the drone playground in India. The government of India is already planning to deploy the technology for real-time monitoring of infrastructure projects, construction and highway development. The technology can also track road accidents and monitor road safety. The Indian drone industry is growing rapidly with its widespread adoption in sectors such as real estate, healthcare, construction, transportation, surveying, defense, construction and infrastructure. Although drone delivery services have increased in recent years, one crucial thing missing is an effective and safe drone traffic management system. UTM has filled this gap and is poised to propel the drone industry to new heights. Let's learn more about UTM and its features.

What is UTM?
Skye UTM is a cloud-based air traffic management system. It is the first and only unmanned traffic management system in India. It connects unmanned air traffic to manned aviation airspace. While a typical air traffic control tower can only manage 120 flights per hour and 1,200 flights per day, the UTM is highly capable and can handle a maximum of 4,000 and 96,000 flights per hour. The system already supports more than 300 BVLOS (Beyond Visual Light of Sight) drones. There are over 1 million active drones in India. Skye UTM aims to be a complete traffic management solution for them.

UTM Features
UTM is a state-of-the-art drone traffic management system. Many of its features are unique and innovative. Some of the most important features of Skye UTM are as follows.

1. UTM is a cloud-based software/system that can manage up to 4,000 drone flights per hour from one tower. This is a highly capable system compared to conventional air traffic management systems.
2. UTM is focused on providing situational awareness to drone pilots, regulators and controllers. The system captures more than 255 UAV motion parameters stored in a black box. Parameters are published in real time, allowing real-time monitoring of the drone. More than 255 parameters were selected so that a systematic description of the entire flight could be created.
3. The system effectively merges unmanned air traffic with a manned air traffic management system. The platform integrates with air navigation service providers, helidrones and other manned aviation systems to maintain airspace integrity and coordination.
4. UTM establishes real-time digital communication between drones and air traffic regulators. The platform provides a three-dimensional view of drone airspace, along with operational and regulatory mapping servers. This enables real-time monitoring of UAV movements, airspace status updates, and trajectory verification.
5. The platform can communicate with all types of drones, from pickup and delivery drones to air taxis. Users of all types can access the platform and its features through the UTM pop-up, which has the most accessible and simplistic interface.
6. The platform can connect to any drone model. It has a highly detailed pre- and post-flight reporting system that can communicate with any drone model.
7. UTM divides drone airspace into distinct zones, each zone reserved for deliveries, high-speed operations, large drones, and passenger aircraft (air taxis). Drone operations in each zone are optimized separately according to UAV requirements.
8. UTM's biggest USP is the Skye Tunnel. It is a proprietary tunnel-based navigation feature that enables a high level of automation in drone navigation. Tunneling ensures that there are no blanks and that the tunnel through the drone's airspace is connected end-to-end without breaking. The feature has been developed considering future air taxi traffic management in Indian cities.

How important is UTM?
UTM is a huge milestone for the drone industry in India. Skye Air Mobility is about to launch UTM globally. It already has significant market potential in India. More than a million active drones are in the country, and the number of drone startups has just started to increase. The drone industry has a lot of potential in a country as big as India. UTM is the first and only drone traffic management system in India. The system will be provided as a cloud-based service called 'UTM-as-a-service' by Skye Air Mobility. It will definitely be a game changer.