The management of missions in real time: a key factor in the development of the ‘INTEGRUAS’ project.

The collaboration between Fuvex and CATEC bears fruit with the development of the Advanced 4D Trajectory Planning and Management System, a software that integrates the pre-tactical and tactical phases of UAS missions and their integration into U-Space.

As part of the INTEGRUAS project, the cooperation between companies and technological centers has been key—particularly the joint work carried out by Fuvex and CATEC. Their engineering teams have collaborated throughout the project to design and develop the Advanced 4D Trajectory Planning and Management System. This software is presented as a fundamental element for flight authorization services and airspace monitoring, and it integrates essential components for the control of UAS operations, such as a mission planner, a flight trajectory simulator, and a trajectory management extension.

The first two subsystems mentioned are part of the pre-tactical phase of an operation, during which missions are generated in compliance with the safety requirements established in the ConOps. This phase begins with pre-planning and concludes with a realistic simulation of the scheduled flight. The simulation estimates the time the aircraft will spend at each point along the trajectory, taking into account factors like platform dynamics, preset flight parameters, and even wind-related weather predictions. These time estimates are highly useful for establishing accurate pre-flight planning.

Trajectory management, on the other hand, corresponds to the tactical phase. This phase allows for real-time control to ensure that the operations organized during the pre-tactical phase meet mission requirements and are able to integrate into the U-Space ecosystem. This trajectory management extension is based on monitoring time, latitude, longitude, and altitude, as well as the aircraft’s speed controller. Once integrated, these subsystems form a complete 4D trajectory control system capable of ensuring the success of the simulated mission during the pre-flight stage.

Finally, during the final validations of the project, laboratory tests were conducted on this Advanced 4D Trajectory Planning and Management System. These were followed by successful flight tests in Tudela during the month of May at Fuvex’s facilities.

The INTEGRÚAS project falls under the CDTI/EU/Resilience Plan program of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, as part of the Aeronautical Technology Program (PTA) – PTAP-20231019.