Rivals Flytrex and Wing Deploy Autonomous Drone Air Traffic Control

Two drone delivery firms in Dallas, Texas, have deployed an unseen air traffic control system. Flytrex and Wing, industry rivals, developed this autonomous coordination to manage thousands of monthly flights, aiming to prevent collisions in increasingly congested airspace.

Credit: UNSPLASH

Flytrex and Wing operate extensively across the Dallas area, competing to deliver items such as burritos, prescriptions, and hot beverages by drone. Their "droneports" are separated by just over 1.6 kilometres, leading to thousands of simultaneous flights each month. This dense operation presented a clear risk of mid-air collisions, which could result in increased regulatory scrutiny and potential operational shutdowns, thereby hindering the drone delivery industry's expansion.

And their solution involved creating a shared airspace coordination system, which the competing organisations activated in Dallas approximately 12 months prior. This air traffic control programme functions without human intervention, as the drones themselves negotiate airspace to ensure safe operations and avoid any conflicts.

The system has reportedly achieved its objectives. Between Jan. and Feb., Flytrex and Wing conducted approximately 8,000 overlapping deliveries across two North Texas zones, specifically Little Elm and Wylie. During this period, combined daily operations saw a 215 per cent increase month over month. The coordination system successfully deconflicted 100 per cent of all operational intents, with no airspace conflicts recorded.

This development represents an early working model of autonomous air traffic control, currently operating in live commercial service. Shai Karassikov, a product manager at Flytrex and co-chair of the U.S. UTM Tech Committee, stated that what they built in Dallas is a proof of concept for the entire industry.

But scaling from a few overlapping flights to thousands per month in less than a year demonstrates how multi-operator drone delivery can expand, not just in Dallas, but in other cities across the United States. He emphasised that "scale" is crucial; delivering a few items is one thing, but establishing a citywide drone delivery programme that operates safely and efficiently provides the only route to normalising drone delivery globally.

The underlying technical architecture for this system is a strategic coordination service. It is built upon ASTM F3548-21, an international interoperability standard, and operates under the Federal Aviation Administration's UTM, Unmanned Traffic Management, Operational Evaluation. As of Jan., this federal evaluation included 17 UTM service providers and operators, suggesting the framework is evolving from an initiative by two pioneers to an industry-wide standard, according to Forbes.

So this progress is seen as a positive indicator for those anticipating drone delivery expansion beyond a limited number of test sites. It raises questions about whether a similar system could augment existing air traffic control for passenger jets and other larger, piloted aircraft.

The architecture demonstrated over Dallas, which incorporates software-to-software negotiation, a shared standard, and no singular control bottleneck, offers a potential model for aviation's future. This becomes increasingly relevant as the skies accommodate more and more aircraft operating without pilots.

• An autonomous air traffic control system has been introduced by Flytrex and Wing in Dallas, Texas.

• The system facilitates negotiation of flight paths between rival drone operators without human oversight.

• It successfully managed 8,000 overlapping deliveries with 100 per cent deconfliction between Jan. and Feb.

• The technology adheres to ASTM F3548-21, an international interoperability standard, under federal evaluation.

• This approach could serve as a model for wider autonomous aviation operations.

Source: Forbes