uAvionix has been granted a new patent for remote identification of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).
Company officials say this technology is “critical to (the) safe and secure integration of UAS into National Airspace System.”
The patent, Direct-Broadcast Remote Identification (RID) Device for Unmanned Aircraft Systems, addresses the need for direct air-to-air transmission of UAS identification information without requiring intermediary infrastructure such as cellular, satellite, or internet connectivity, company officials explain.
UAS RID functionality is one of three technologies, along with command and control (C2), and Detect and Avoid (DAA), “critical to enabling safe and secure UAS operations over people and beyond visual line of sight,” company officials said.
“RID has often been referred to as the digital license plate which protects the operator’s anonymity from the public while simultaneously providing for accountability to the regulator and authorities,” officials said in a press release. “This is accomplished by transmission of position information and registration information of both the aircraft and the remote pilot. While transmission of this data can be accomplished over mobile networks, air-to-air broadcast functionality is critical for delivery of this information in rural areas and as an aid to DAA.”
The FAA is expected to publish its final RID rule by the end of 2020. In its draft Notice of Public Rulemaking (NPRM), the FAA requires broadcast RID capability to be a component of the “Standard” RID type, which is required for any UAS that flies greater than 400 feet in any direction from the control station.