Drone Delivery of Vaccines move from VLOS to BVLOS
Drone Delivery of Vaccines
move from VLOS to BVLOS
The government of Telangana has received 1year exemption from Unmanned
Aircraft System {UAS) Rules, 2021.
Vide an Office Order dt 7th May, 2021, Ministry
of Aviation, Government of India granted partial exemption from UAS Rules 2021,
for conducting experimental BVLOS drone flights for vaccine delivery.
The
aim is to provide last mile Healthcare access.
Trails
by Telangana Government are expected to start by end of May 2021.
The
Central Government is providing a conditional exemption for experimental drone
flights for vaccine delivery as part of constant endeavor to enhance the scope
of drone usage in the country and assist the nation to fight COVID-19 pandemic.
Ministry
of Civil Aviation (MoCA) & Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)have
granted a conditional exemption to the Government of Telangana for conducting
experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) drone flights for delivery of
vaccines.
Exemption
has been granted from Unmanned Aircraft System {UAS) Rules, 2021.
This Blog Post falls under
the category of #FinFiction and #OffBeat
Why #FinFiction?
Reason 01) The drones may
be equipped with QR Codes for payment of the goods carried by the delivery
Drones. The goods will be released by the Drone only after confirmation of funds
being received.
Reason
02) Re-KYC of account holders. A drone can take a photo of the account holder and
transmit it back to a command center. Based on the GPS details, the Re-KYC of the account
holders can be done.
Reason 03) Insurance
claims can be settled with less TAT, as drones can be deployed to collect
data once a claim is submitted.
Q: What are Drones?
Ans: Drones are aircraft
that carry no human pilot or passengers.
They may be remotely controlled
or can fly autonomously through software-controlled flight plans in their
embedded systems working in conjunction with onboard sensors and GPS.
VLOS Drones are increasingly
gaining traction at Indian functions, especially in marriages when large people
gather for the celebration. VLOS Drones are the preferred mode to capture the
festivities' mood.
Operating principles
of Drones or UAVs or UAS
Operating
principles - The primary responsibility of anyone who flies any aircraft is to
determine how it is being flown and the process that is being used to avoid it
colliding with other aircraft, objects or people. The same responsibility applies when flying
unmanned aircraft, but because the remote pilot is not physically onboard the
aircraft, it is achieved in a slightly different manner.
As
a result, UAS are flown under one of two operating principles:
01)
VLOS
02)
BVLOS
Q: What is VLOS (Visual Line of
Sight)?
Ans: Within the Visual
Line of Sight (VLOS) of the remote pilot - This means that the unmanned
aircraft must be able to be clearly seen by the remote pilot at all times when
it is airborne.
By doing this, the remote
pilot is able to monitor the unmanned aircraft’s flight path and so manoeuvre
it clear of anything that it may collide with.
While corrective
spectacles can be used to look at the aircraft, the use of binoculars,
telescopes, or any other image enhancing devices are not permitted.
One of the most globally
misunderstood rules in drone operations is the requirements to operate an
Unmanned Aircraft (also known as Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) or Remotely Piloted
Aircraft (RPA) within VLOS.
Visual Line of Sight
(‘VLOS’) operations are a type of UAS operation in which the remote pilot
maintains continuous, unaided visual contact with the unmanned aircraft.
In its simplest term, the
aircraft must always be visible to the pilot.
This allows the remote
pilot to control the flight path of the unmanned aircraft in relation to other
aircraft, people, and obstacles for the purpose of avoiding collisions.
The aircraft may not be
flown behind trees, buildings, or other obstacles.
VLOS is a flight within
Visual Line of Sight, which is 500 meters from the pilot.
Q: What is BVLOS (Beyond the
Visual Line of Sight)?
Ans: Beyond the Visual
Line of Sight (BVLOS) of the remote pilot
If the remote pilot is
unable to maintain direct unaided visual contact with the unmanned aircraft
while it is airborne, then an alternative method of collision avoidance must be
employed in order to ensure that it can still be flown safely.
BVLOS (sometimes also
called BLOS), means ‘Beyond Visual Line of Sight' operations.
This is where the flying
of a drone is without a pilot maintaining visual line of sight on the aircraft
at all times. Instead, the pilot operates the UAV using Remote Pilot Station
(RPS) / Ground Control Station (GCS) instruments.
An unmanned aircraft being
operated BVLOS no longer has the protection of the pilot or observer to avoid
terrain, obstacles or other aircraft (called ‘See and Avoid’ or ‘Detect and
Avoid’ (DAA)).
BVLOS operations require
extremely careful planning by operators with a framework process in place with
most Aviation Authorities, in which to justify and explain the procedures to be
followed during the flight.
While operations outside
of a pilot’s line of sight have been available for some time under BVLOS
provisions, the pilot training requirements are generally arduous, and
approvals are issued on a location-by-location, case-by-case basis.
Obtaining an approval to
fly BVLOS, while hugely valuable, is a challenging task.
Drones flying Beyond
Visual Line of Sight are controlled by data provided by on-board instruments.
Information is transmitted via a telemetry link that informs the operator about
the position, altitude, speed and direction of flight as well as all relevant
parameters of the aircraft.
However, UAVs flying BVLOS
can also change flight parameters and control sensors to collect data.
Q: Why this provisional permission is important?
Importance
01) The permission is valid for one year. Within this one year, the consortiums
can plan any number of flights subject to the terms and conditions contained in
the permission order.
Importance 02) The drones
can fly upto 400 feet Above Ground Level (AGL), with an energy reserve of 15% of
the proposed flight time.
Importance 03) BVLOS drone
flights can be conducted between local sunrise and local sunset. This provides
a large window for the consortiums to plan flights.
Reference Documents:
Press Release @ https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1717026
Office Order @ https://static.pib.gov.in/WriteReadData/specificdocs/documents/2021/may/doc20215801.pdf
What next?
Next 01) Prepare the road
map for trial runs by end of May 2021.
Next 02) Finalise SPC (Single
Point of Contact) for each flight to co-ordinate with Shamshabad ATC
Next 03) Co-ordinate with
Insurance Companies for the possibility for insurance coverage of each experimental
flight
Drones Trends in few other
countries:
Germany: REAL
WORLD BVLOS CORRIDOR MAPPING IN GERMANY article dt SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 @ https://www.microdrones.com/en/content/real-world-bvlos-corridor-mapping-in-germany/
Highlight: In Germany
BVLOS is possible thanks to a unique relationship between Deutsche Telekom and
German Air Traffic Control. Drones are able to connect to the Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Traffic Management (UTM,) that can locate, monitor and track drones
connected over the Deutsche Telekom mobile network (LTE). This allows for safe
flight BVLOS operations.
USA:
FAA BEYOND Page last modified March 16,2021 @ https://www.faa.gov/uas/programs_partnerships/beyond/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Department%20of%20Transportation,National%20Airspace%20System%20(%20NAS%20).
Highlight)
One of the challenge areas
is:
Beyond Visual Line of
Sight (BVLOS) operations that are repeatable, scalable and economically viable
with specific emphasis on infrastructure inspection, public operations and
small package delivery.
England: UK
regulator gives green light to delivery drone trials. Pilots will be able to
fly aircraft beyond their line of sight in tests that could shake up logistics
industry – Article dt.April 2021
@ https://www.ft.com/content/66487d88-a6b3-4e46-9b8a-00e38e93d3af
Highlight) In a
significant step forward for the drone industry, beyond visual line of sight
(BVLOS) command & control solution developer sees.ai has become the first
company in the UK to secure authorisation from the UK Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA) to trial a concept for routine Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)
operations.
The permissions come as
part of a test project to prove the concept ahead of potentially opening it up
to the wider market.
Canada: - Canadian
Drone Industry is Taking Off: An Insider View of Canada’s Regulations and New
Developments article dt. May 05, 2021
Highlight) The big news is
that Canada plans to soft launch low-risk BVLOS regs sometime this summer.
Routine low-risk BVLOS
without special approval is on track for 2022. Expect that these new Canadian
BVLOS regulations will include a specialized training requirement.
Disclaimer: These
are my personal views only. The bottom line is Mission #LessCashNotCashLess.
Nothing more-Nothing less
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