is a UK national programme that is researching, developing and validating the necessary technologies, systems, facilities and procedures to promote and enable safe, routine and unrestricted use of Unmanned Aerial Systems including Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.
ASTRAEA involves a consortium of major aerospace companies, including BAE Systems, EADS, Flight Refuelling, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce, and Thales, working with autonomous systems specialist Agent Oriented Software, many of the most innovative small companies in the sector, and leading academic minds.
The technology being developed under ASTRAEA will address issues such as Ground Operations and Human Interaction; Communications & Air Traffic Control; UAS Handling; Routing; Collision Avoidance; Multiple Air Vehicle Integration; Prognostics & Health Management; and Decision Modelling.
The 3 year programme ending in December 2008 is expected to cost £32 million. Half of the funding for ASTRAEA is coming from the public sector, £5 million from the DTI and £11 million from the Regional Development Agencies and the other half from the industrial consortium.
Public sector input is led by the Welsh Assembly Government. Other regions that are investing in ASTRAEA are the South West of England Regional Development Agency, South East Economic Development Agency (SEEDA), Scottish Enterprise and the North West Regional Development Agency.
SEEDA’s participation in ASTRAEA was largely due to the Aerospace Strategy developed by FAC for SEEDA and the Business Case especially compiled by FAC to support SEEDA’s funding decision.
SEEDA anticipates some significant economic benefits coming from the programme with three of the industrial consortium companies being located within its region. Each of regions has different economic targets and measurement but SEEDA is particularly focused on the involvement of SMEs. The industrial consortium companies signed up to involve as many as 20 SMEs from the South East in programme activities before its close.
For more information please contact John Moreland on 01252 375 600 or jm@jmukprojects.com
ASTRAEA stands for Autonomous Systems Technology Related Airborne Evaluation & Assessment and is a key element of the National Aerospace Technology Strategy promoted by to the Aerospace Innovation and Growth Team (AeIGT), a partnership between UK Government, industry and academia.
For UASs to be routinely used in place of manned aircraft for common operational missions, autonomous systems technology will require significant development.
The current regulatory framework (as defined by the Civil Aviation Authority) will also need to be re-interpreted to enable UAVs to operate alongside manned aircraft.
ASTRAEA is a three-year programme in its first phase and it is intended that it will pave the way for commercial UASs to operate autonomously in non-segregated airspace within the next decade.
There are numerous potential applications for UASs. There would be obvious benefits for 'blue light' services tasked with patrolling motorways or needing an aerial perspective of major incidents, and also for environmental organisations wanting to monitor systematically coastlines, waterways and large tracts of land.
In fact, autonomous UASs carrying sophisticated imaging or sensing equipment could be used in any situation classed as 'dull, dirty or dangerous,' including air-sea rescue and disaster relief.
The programme also incorporates 'demonstration' projects which will exhibit the technology: Propulsion & Power; Affordable Technologies including a UAS engine; Logistics; and finally the verification and demonstration of technologies, either singly or as integrated systems.
Responsibility for delivering ASTRAEA are six of the country's leading universities, Cranfield, Lancaster, Leicester, Loughborough, Sheffield and West of England are partners in the ASTRAEA programme, engaged in projects rangeing from Ground Operations & Human Systems and UAV Handling to Multiple Air Vehicle Integration and Decision Making.
Sub-contracts have also been awarded to the universities of Aberystwyth and Glamorgan to work on aspects of Prognostics & Health Management and Communications & Air Traffic Control respectively.