SafeSky Integration: Real-Time Air Traffic Awareness for Drone Operations

Enhance drone operations with real-time air traffic awareness through SafeSky Integration.

FlytBase interface with globe and airspace intelligence

The Problem

Imagine you're managing a fleet of drones tasked with inspecting thermal wells or maintaining infrastructure across a sprawling industrial site. As these operations become more autonomous and remotely managed, the airspace becomes a shared environment with crewed aircraft, helicopters, and other drones. The challenge? You lack visibility into this airspace, and the pilots above have no idea your drones are buzzing below. This mutual blind spot isn't just inconvenient-it's a safety risk.

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Feature Introduction

Enter the SafeSky Integration, a Flink that brings real-time cooperative air traffic awareness right into your FlytBase interface. This integration allows you to see nearby air traffic, including general aviation aircraft, helicopters, gliders, and more, directly on your FlytBase map. Plus, it makes your drone operations visible to crewed aircraft through the SafeSky ecosystem, enhancing mutual awareness and safety.

• Seeing Nearby Air Traffic: With SafeSky, you can access live cooperative air traffic information on your FlytBase map. Whether you're monitoring a maintenance shed or overseeing a remote inspection, you can switch between a full-map view or focus on a 20 km area around a selected dock. Separate airborne traffic from other contacts and see when traffic information was last refreshed.

• Being Seen by Crewed Aircraft: Your drone operations aren't just visible to you. Through the SafeSky ecosystem, they become visible to nearby crewed aircraft. This information is available within the SafeSky application and through more than 15 compatible Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) and cockpit navigation solutions used by pilots across Europe.

• Flyt-Sense Alerts: Flyt-Sense enhances your situational awareness by highlighting aircraft that enter caution and critical zones around your operations. Get clear visual indications of potential conflicts, so you can act before they become issues.

• Connected Drone Ecosystem: By joining the SafeSky Network, your operations become part of a broader connected drone ecosystem. This integration enables greater awareness and coordination between operators using different technologies, making the airspace safer for everyone.

• BVLOS and Regulatory Support: Enhanced awareness of cooperative traffic supports your Air Risk Mitigation strategy within the SORA framework, crucial for safely executing advanced Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) missions.

FlytBase interface showing air traffic

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Step-by-Step Walkthrough

Step 1: Access the SafeSky Integration

Navigate to FlytBase > Flinks and select the SafeSky Integration. This will open the interface where you can configure your settings.

Step 2: Configure the API Key

Enter your SafeSky API key in the designated field and click Save. This will enable the integration and allow your operations to be visible to crewed aircraft.

Configuring the SafeSky API key in FlytBase

Step 3: Monitor Air Traffic

With the integration enabled, view real-time air traffic on your FlytBase map. Use the left panel to monitor drone statuses and the right panel for airborne aircraft details.

Step 4: Respond to Flyt-Sense Alerts

Stay alert to Flyt-Sense notifications. When an aircraft enters a caution or critical zone, assess the situation and take necessary actions to ensure safety.

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Constraints & Requirements

Component	Details
Integration Type	Flink
Traffic Radius	20 km around selected dock
Traffic Direction	Bi-directional (see and be seen)
EFB Compatibility	15+ compatible cockpit navigation solutions
Refresh	Real-time with last-updated timestamp
Alert System	Flyt-Sense caution and critical zone alerts
Category	Airspace Awareness

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Access

The SafeSky Integration is available as a Flink in the FlytBase platform.