London: The British government has approved a 265-km-long drone superhighway network.
Called Project Skyway, sensors will be installed on the ground that will guide the drones connected to them so that the drones can safely reach their destination through these ‘passageways’.
Cities whose airspace will be connected by this network include Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry, and Rugby. The drone superhighway project was submitted by a consortium led by Altitude Angel.
The group hopes the superhighway will pave the way for unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities in a big way. It’s currently unclear how much the network will cost, but the team plans to complete the project by June 2024. intends to
Currently, drones cannot fly without human pilots, except in some cases. The Skyway company aims to enable drone manufacturers to connect the guidance and communication systems of their unmanned drones to a virtual superhighway.
Once connected, the system will take over the guidance of the drone using only software and guide it safely through the path. This is possible because powerful sensors on the ground provide guidance to the drone and no additional weight is required in the form of a pilot to fly the drone.