The SKYWAY project (The WAY to Integration of Autonomous Aircraft in a Shared SKY) is an R&D initiative led by Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE), in response to the pre-commercial public procurement call of the Civil UAVs Initiative, Solutions – Air phase. Its main objective is to design, prototype, and test advanced technological solutions in representative environments to manage the most critical contingencies in the operation of UAVs (drones) in shared airspace. This project aims to accelerate the integration of routine drone operations by demonstrating how operational safety can be ensured at a reasonable cost through coordinated technologies onboard the vehicle, at ground control stations, and in air traffic management systems.
SKYWAY will also support ongoing regulatory processes by providing data and results that guide the definition of compliance measures. In this context, GRADIANT has been subcontracted to develop solutions to manage contingencies such as Loss of Separation and Loss of GPS, including an onboard vision system for aircraft detection and an autonomous navigation system based on georeferenced images.
