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 7^th 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