Certiflight demonstrates its effectiveness for the Airspace Infringement and E-Conspicuity use cases in Italy

February 10, 2025

The European project Certiflight is finalising its validation plan to test different scenarios to demonstrate the viability of the technology in different use cases. To this end, the European project has been testing its technology in recent months in different parts of Europe in applications such as monitoring activities, airport inspection or agriculture applications, among others.

The latest test has been carried out in the airspace infringement and e- conspicuity features scenario. The objective was to demonstrate the effectiveness of Certiflight in providing proof of non-infringement for UAS operations, while also demonstrating its e-conspicuity features for general aviation aircraft. During the test it was shown that Certiflight integration during UAS flight validates speed obstacle conflict resolution algorithms, which is a geometric approach to detecting and resolving conflicts in airspace.

This method offers flexibility to incorporate various types of information and constraints, such as data uncertainty, positional and velocity limits, time constraints and intent. In addition, the system can prioritise different factors to ensure safe and compliant conflict resolution, while encouraging coordinated interactions.

The airspace violation and e-Conspicuity functions play an important role in airspace management, especially in airport operations where no-fly zones are strictly enforced. During the test, the Certiflight-equipped general aviation has been shown to fly through the airspace, allowing the system to show how it improves the situational awareness of the pilot. Through this process, the system provides conflict resolution warnings, including recommended course and speed adjustments.

The test was carried out in an area within Taranto/Grottaglie airport, close to the runway, where drones are not allowed to fly and therefore a case of airspace infringement detection and prevention was shown.

Conclusions

The validation exercise was attended by members of the Certiflight team, including one of the project reviewers appointed by EUSPA, the granting authority for the project, who had the opportunity to see the system prototype in operation in a real-world scenario.

In the words of the person responsible for the conflict resolution algorithm:

It’s been incredibly exciting to see the conflict resolution algorithm in action in a real scenario. Knowing the immense effort that went into developing it, we couldn't contain our enthusiasm as we watched the device successfully operate on the GA aircraft. It was a moment of pure celebration for the entire team.

Fazlur Rahman

TU Delft

About the Certiflight validation campaign

For more information about the Certiflight validation camapaign, please visit the Validation page.