SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport
Deploying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in safety- and business-critical operations requires demonstrating compliance with applicable regulations and a comprehensive understanding of the residual risk associated with the UAS operation. To support these activities and enable the safe deployment of...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Drones |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/5/4/141 |
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| author | Carol Martinez Pedro J. Sanchez-Cuevas Simos Gerasimou Abhishek Bera Miguel A. Olivares-Mendez |
| author_facet | Carol Martinez Pedro J. Sanchez-Cuevas Simos Gerasimou Abhishek Bera Miguel A. Olivares-Mendez |
| author_sort | Carol Martinez |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Deploying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in safety- and business-critical operations requires demonstrating compliance with applicable regulations and a comprehensive understanding of the residual risk associated with the UAS operation. To support these activities and enable the safe deployment of UAS into civil airspace, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has established a UAS regulatory framework that mandates the execution of safety risk assessment for UAS operations in order to gain authorization to carry out certain types of operations. Driven by this framework, the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS) released the Specific Operation Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology that guides the systematic risk assessment for UAS operations. However, existing work on SORA and its applications focuses mainly on single UAS operations, offering limited support for assuring operations conducted with multiple UAS and with autonomous features. Therefore, the work presented in this paper analyzes the application of SORA for a Multi-UAS airframe inspection (AFI) operation, that involves deploying multiple UAS with autonomous features inside an airport. We present the decision-making process of each SORA step and its application to a multiple UAS scenario. The results shows that the procedures and safety features included in the Multi-AFI operation such as workspace segmentation, the independent multi-UAS AFI crew proposed, and the mitigation actions provide confidence that the operation can be conducted safely and can receive a positive evaluation from the competent authorities. We also present our key findings from the application of SORA and discuss how it can be extended to better support multi-UAS operations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:17:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e038ef818c194770baab8bf564fe01cb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:17:25Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Drones |
| spelling | doaj.art-e038ef818c194770baab8bf564fe01cb2023-11-23T07:57:41ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2021-11-015414110.3390/drones5040141SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an AirportCarol Martinez0Pedro J. Sanchez-Cuevas1Simos Gerasimou2Abhishek Bera3Miguel A. Olivares-Mendez4Space Robotics Research Group (SpaceR), SnT Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, University of Luxembourg, 4365 Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgSpace Robotics Research Group (SpaceR), SnT Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, University of Luxembourg, 4365 Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgDepartment of Computer Science, University of York, Haslington, York YO10 5DD, UKSpace Robotics Research Group (SpaceR), SnT Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, University of Luxembourg, 4365 Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgSpace Robotics Research Group (SpaceR), SnT Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust, University of Luxembourg, 4365 Esch-sur-Alzette, LuxembourgDeploying Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in safety- and business-critical operations requires demonstrating compliance with applicable regulations and a comprehensive understanding of the residual risk associated with the UAS operation. To support these activities and enable the safe deployment of UAS into civil airspace, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has established a UAS regulatory framework that mandates the execution of safety risk assessment for UAS operations in order to gain authorization to carry out certain types of operations. Driven by this framework, the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS) released the Specific Operation Risk Assessment (SORA) methodology that guides the systematic risk assessment for UAS operations. However, existing work on SORA and its applications focuses mainly on single UAS operations, offering limited support for assuring operations conducted with multiple UAS and with autonomous features. Therefore, the work presented in this paper analyzes the application of SORA for a Multi-UAS airframe inspection (AFI) operation, that involves deploying multiple UAS with autonomous features inside an airport. We present the decision-making process of each SORA step and its application to a multiple UAS scenario. The results shows that the procedures and safety features included in the Multi-AFI operation such as workspace segmentation, the independent multi-UAS AFI crew proposed, and the mitigation actions provide confidence that the operation can be conducted safely and can receive a positive evaluation from the competent authorities. We also present our key findings from the application of SORA and discuss how it can be extended to better support multi-UAS operations.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/5/4/141dronesregulationrisk assessmentSORA methodologyairframe inspectionmulti-UAS |
| spellingShingle | Carol Martinez Pedro J. Sanchez-Cuevas Simos Gerasimou Abhishek Bera Miguel A. Olivares-Mendez SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport Drones drones regulation risk assessment SORA methodology airframe inspection multi-UAS |
| title | SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport |
| title_full | SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport |
| title_fullStr | SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport |
| title_full_unstemmed | SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport |
| title_short | SORA Methodology for Multi-UAS Airframe Inspections in an Airport |
| title_sort | sora methodology for multi uas airframe inspections in an airport |
| topic | drones regulation risk assessment SORA methodology airframe inspection multi-UAS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/5/4/141 |
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