Software enables aircraft to identify no-fly zones

Airspace monitoring software service can alert aircraft of no-fly zones

A UK tech startup has released an airspace monitoring software service that creates aircraft alerts to increase aircraft safety.

The software, developed by drone cloud services company Altitude Angel, enables drone operators to specify ‘alert regions’ that the firm’s cloud platform monitors in real-time for low-flying manned aircraft, sending a push notification via email or SMS to the drone operator to ensure they have time to move out of the way safely. The service is combined with a drone safety map to help drone operators to identify no-fly zones.

The technology watches aviation traffic globally in real-time, aggregating data from multiple sources. It receives around 12 million messages every minute, which are then filtered to provide updates on low-altitude air traffic (below 800m) – the kind that drone users need to be aware of. 

In the future, the service will be able to send out important weather information, as well as alerts whenever no-fly zones are activated or deactivated.

Richard Parker, founder and chief executive of Altitude Angel, said:  “Once we have a filtered set of aircraft data, we perform analysis to determine if the aircraft’s trajectory is likely to encroach on an area our users are flying within, and can tell the drone operator where to look – and when – to help them avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Drone pilots everywhere are crying out for better information,” said Parker. “The majority of people want to ‘do the right thing’ and check for no-fly zones, obstacles and relevant regulations before they fly, but many don’t have the training, time or even access to everything they’d need in order to make better safety choices. It’s the industry’s job to help solve this problem.”