Swiss U-Space Implementation (SUSI) members, under the coordination of the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation,have announced that a nationwide voluntary Network Remote Identification (NET-RID) service is now live across Switzerland. The service complies with the U-Space Regulation (EU) 2021/664 adopted by the European Commission, which will be enforced beginning January 2023.
NET-RID ensures drone operations are safe and compliant by enabling information sharing about those operations via the internet. SUSI members are making it possible for drone operators to easily share information about their flights with airspace authorities, law enforcement, other operators, and the general public. NET-RID is a joint collaboration between AirMap, ANRA Technologies, Avision, Involi, OneSky, Orbitalize, Skyy Network, skyguide and Wing.
“With the increasing amount of drones operating in the airspace it is now important to be able to identify a drone easily. Thanks to the remote identification service we will save precious time, which is of considerable value to the Geneva police,”
said Philippe Couturier, the sergeant of the Geneva police. Sharing operator information with authorities is key to safe drone operations at scale. With NET-RID, airspace actors in Switzerland can now see drone operators’ registration numbers and information related to their flights.
Operator information is shared via the InterUSS Platform, a Linux Foundation open-source platform that ensures a U-Space Service Provider (USSP) has obtained all relevant data from other USSPs. This allows USSPs to share information only when necessary and enables interoperability between all participants.
The NET-RID service complies with the ASTM F3411 standard, which guarantees that only necessary information is shared. This protects operator privacy while also reassuring the general public that nearby drone operations are safe and compliant.
FOCA has recently launched its drone operator registry, where drone operators conducting flights in Switzerland can share their information and receive an identification number. Drone operators can register themselves on the UAS.gate platform.
Switzerland is the first country to fully implement the network remote identification service.
“The development of Unmanned Aircraft Systems is well underway and exciting applications are emerging in geographies all over the world,” said Reinaldo Negron, Head of UTM at Wing and InterUSS Board Member. “Traditionally, aviation has been served by proprietary technologies. InterUSS is an operational example of bringing open source technologies based on internationally recognised standards to aviation and working on its development together. We are encouraged to see this advance led by industry in consultation with FOCA.”
“The InterUSS open source project allows us to work fast and meets all our requirements for interoperability,” said Benoit Curdy, Digital Transformation Architect, Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation. “Switzerland is proud to actively contribute to increased safety and interoperability for drone operations in an open and collaborative way. We look forward to partnering with other governments and industries as they join this effort to safely advance the UAS industry.”
The Swiss NET-RID service leverages InterUSS for its standards-based interoperability capabilities, connecting those who need or want information about a drone flying in a certain area, like a law enforcement agent or curious neighbor, with people who have data relevant to that area, like a U-space service provider.
Remote ID (RID) technology is intended to remove the anonymity of the operator, much like a car’s license plate identifies the driver. This is done with electronic systems for aircraft because license plates and tail numbers aren’t visible from the ground and can add to a drone’s load capacity. RID solves the anonymity issue by attaching an electronic tag to a drone operation. This electronic tag is anonymous to the public but linked to a drone registration database where personal information is stored about the drone owner or operator. The Swiss FOCA has developed a drone operator registry, through which drone operators can share their information and get a unique identification number.
Remote ID can be accomplished by two different recognized methods. The first method is using a networked computer system that receives telemetry from a drone via a ground control station (GCS) or potentially attached hardware capable of sending updates through cellular networks (Network-RID, or NET-RID). The second method uses a broadcast device to push telemetry and the drone tag over a direct RF link to a smartphone (Broadcast-RID). In the SUSI NET-RID program, identification information is shared through the interoperable, open-source InterUSS Platform: allowing U-Space Service Providers (USSP) to exchange information as needed.
Both methods solve the problem of anonymity and protect the privacy of drone owners and operators. While broadcast-RID programs primarily benefit law enforcement and security stakeholders who must identify operators who don’t follow the rules, the Swiss U-Space NET-RID program also offers significant safety benefits for the drone industry and the aviation community.
Broadcast RID gives only a fleeting view of a drone’s position within a defined space. OneSky co-founder Chris Kucera says that the SUSI cooperative system of NET-RID provides insight into air traffic across an entire country – insight that can help aviators adjust flight plans as necessary to improve safety and optimize operations.
“If a drone is flying through a space of 1 km, and sending out position signals one time per second, you may only get one or two signals. Broadcast solutions can’t help with safety – the range is just too short,” Kucera explains.
“With a networked system, you know where the drone is 5 miles away from where you are now. With NET-RID, we always have a position track for the drone. The network enables you to see much further than just the range of a broadcast. It also allows you to understand the intent of the operator, like the flight plan.”
The ability for service providers to securely and safely share information with one another enables broader participation from a wide range of service providers. Wing and other SUSI Members host the InterUSS instance to support information sharing between 7 software applications. Interested parties in the country can use any of these approved applications to participate in the NET-RID roll-out.
InterUSS is hosted at the Linux Foundation and provides a forum for collaboration and development of standards-compliant, open source implementations that facilitate communication in the U-Space/UTM environment. It supports a range of UTM / U-Space services by facilitating communications between USS and implements the Discovery and Synchronization Service (DSS) defined in the ASTM Remote ID standard. It enables a USS to discover other USS from which it needs to obtain information about flights and constraints in the airspace, and it provides mechanisms that require a USS to prove that it is aware of those flights and constraints.
The InterUSS Platform accomplishes these functions without requiring any personally identifiable information and enables the USS to share data only when necessary.
The InterUSS platform was developed by industry in consultation with regulators and standards bodies around the world. It also provides a framework for interoperability in NASA’s UTM Technology Capability level demonstrations and the FAA’s UTM pilot program.
Source: Press Release