/** * Custom footer links injection */ function add_custom_footer_links() { echo ''; } add_action('wp_footer', 'add_custom_footer_links'); HAPS – Born to Drone https://borntodrone.org Aerial photography services Fri, 26 Jul 2024 11:40:00 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.5 AALTO achieves milestone HAPS regulation, with Design Organisation Approval from UK Civil Aviation Authority https://borntodrone.org/aalto-achieves-milestone-haps-regulation-with-design-organisation-approval-from-uk-civil-aviation-authority/ Fri, 26 Jul 2024 11:40:00 +0000 https://www.suasnews.com/?p=98512
  • UK-first for HAPS regulation as UK Civil Aviation Authority certifies that Zephyr manufacturer and operator AALTO has capabilities to design an aircraft
  • DOA is a crucial milestone in the roadmap to secure Type Certification for Zephyr, ahead of a targeted entry-into-service globally in 2026
  • Regulatory milestone follows $100m investment in AALTO by Japanese Consortium in June 2024, as the Company prepares for flight programme from Zephyr’s first launch and landing site in Kenya

FARNBOROUGH, UK, July 2024 – AALTO HAPS Ltd. (“AALTO” or “the Company”), which designs, manufactures and operates the stratospheric, solar-powered Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS), today announces that it has secured its Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. This is the first DOA to be issued to a HAPS company in the UK, marking AALTO and the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s leadership in the development and regulation of HAPS technology.

Today’s announcement made at the Farnborough International Air Show follows several months of engagement between AALTO and the UK Civil Aviation Authority, as the Company progresses the process for a Type Certification of its latest Zephyr Z8 aircraft. UK-based companies must be granted a DOA before securing a Type Certification, an airworthiness standard that will help facilitate the commercial activation and roll-out of AALTO’s services globally.

As part of the DOA, the UK Civil Aviation Authority led an initial review of AALTO encompassing the Company’s procedures, facilities and competency of its design team. The DOA certifies AALTO is an organisation with capabilities to design aircraft to the highest standards. AALTO is now working closely with the UK Civil Aviation Authority on the Type Certification of Zephyr ahead of a targeted entry-into-service in 2026.

With a current flight-time record of over 64 days in the stratosphere, Zephyr is a world-leading HAPS that will be transformative for mobile connectivity and earth observation. As a payload agnostic platform, Zephyr can deliver several applications, including low-latency 5G direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity and high-quality earth observation services.

Samer Halawi, Chief Executive Officer of AALTO, said: “This is a significant milestone for the industrial and commercial roadmap of Zephyr. Following a landmark investment in our business and the beginning of our comprehensive flight season, this approval underscores the regulatory confidence in HAPS as we demonstrate the potential of providing cutting-edge services from the stratosphere. The UK Civil Aviation Authority continues to show its global leadership as an enabler of sustainable technology such as Zephyr, which remains at the forefront of solar-powered innovation.”

Pierre-Antoine Aubourg, Chief Technology Officer of AALTO, added: “This validation from a world-leading aviation authority is testament to the dedication and expertise of our teams at AALTO. Our technical and engineering departments continue to be driven by setting the highest possible standards, alongside the UK Civil Aviation Authority, whose support and insight has been vital in our certification journey.

“As we focus on securing a Type Certification for Zephyr, we look forward to working closely with the UK Civil Aviation Authority over the coming months. With their ongoing support, I am confident we will continue to break new ground in the regulation of Zephyr and HAPS technology.”

Garry Lathey, Design and Certification Manager at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “We are committed to working as the regulator with innovative companies like AALTO to play our role in realising their ideas in a safe, sustainable way. The granting of Design Organisation Approval to AALTO brings closer a future with certified RPAS, demonstrating our commitment to ensuring the UK stays at the forefront of global aviation innovation. We will continue to work with regulatory bodies around the world to protect consumers and enable the innovation of certified RPAS.”

About AALTO

AALTO, a subsidiary of Airbus, is a global leader in connectivity and earth observation services from the stratosphere. Based in Farnborough, UK, the Company designs, manufactures and offers services using its record-breaking Zephyr High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS). Powered by solar energy and operating above 60,000+ feet, Zephyr’s persistence enables continuous flight for months at a time. Its current flight-time record is over 64 days in the stratosphere. As a payload agnostic platform, Zephyr can deliver several applications, including low-latency 5G direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity and high-quality earth observation services. Those solutions will deliver for several markets including mobile greenfield connectivity, disaster management, border protection, and precision agriculture. For further information, please visit www.aaltohaps.com.

About the UK Civil Aviation Authority

The UK Civil Aviation Authority is the UK’s aviation and aerospace regulator. It works to protect people and enable aerospace so that the aviation industry meets the highest safety standards and consumers have choice, value for money, are protected and treated fairly when they fly.

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]]> BT Group and SPL look to the stratosphere to deliver 4G and 5G coverage to hard-to-reach areas of the UK https://borntodrone.org/bt-group-and-spl-look-to-the-stratosphere-to-deliver-4g-and-5g-coverage-to-hard-to-reach-areas-of-the-uk/ Wed, 01 Feb 2023 14:17:50 +0000 https://www.suasnews.com/?p=89692

BT Group and Stratospheric Platforms Ltd (SPL) today announced they will test delivering mobile coverage using an innovative new antenna technology, designed to be mounted on a High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) aircraft. The trials, being conducted at BT’s global R&D headquarters at Adastral Park, aim to provide a solution to one of the final challenges of mobile connectivity – getting coverage to the hardest to reach areas.

The project, which has received funding from Innovate UK, could offer transformational opportunities for sectors operating in remote areas such as transport, maritime security and search and rescue and could provide faster and more seamless connectivity direct to consumers mobile devices in remote areas.

In addition to extending the reach of existing UK network infrastructure, the HAPS solution could provide a fallback for terrestrial networks in the event of a disaster, supporting humanitarian aid or disaster relief. Furthermore, it has potential applications for remote monitoring across various industrial and agricultural use cases, improving efficiency of operation.

SPL’s antenna technology can provide uninterrupted 4G and 5G connectivity direct to consumer smart phones. The phased array antenna is capable of delivering faster speeds, in some cases up to 150Mbps across areas as wide as 140km or 15,000 square km (an area equivalent to the average footprint of 450 terrestrial masts), through 500 individually steerable beams.

In addition to the high performance, wide area connectivity, the HAPS solution is expected to provide significant cost and energy savings. The phased array antenna and the flight platform powered by hydrogen, provides sustainable 4G and 5G connectivity to large areas from the skies, removing the need for extending expensive terrestrial infrastructure in remote areas.

The first step in BT and SPL’s journey to the skies, is the development of a secure 5G HAPS communications demonstration system. SPL’s phased array antenna will be placed on a high building (simulating a high-altitude platform), to test its interaction with BT’s 5G secure architecture, connecting with its Open RAN testbed. This test will include supporting multiple user groups and different potential use cases, concurrently on the same network.

Tim Whitley, Managing Director Research and Network Strategy, BT Group said: “We’re delighted to be partnering with SPL to start realising the huge potential of HAPS aircraft to further strengthen our UK 4G and 5G network technology leadership. This highly innovative and transformative project has the potential to further enhance our UK 4G and 5G footprint, which is already the largest and most reliable in the UK, to connect unserved rural areas and enable exciting new use cases for private users.

Richard Deakin, CEO, SPL commented: “The SPL team is excited to be working with BT Group to further advance its breakthrough UK-developed technology.  This partnership will build further on SPL’s world-first 5G demonstration from the stratosphere achieved in 2022. With BT, we’re pleased to continue our journey supporting the UK to become a science super-power.”

About Stratospheric Platforms Ltd

Stratospheric Platforms Limited is a leader in High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS). The company will provide ubiquitous, high bandwidth, low latency connectivity at a fraction of the cost of traditional terrestrial solutions. The technology provides a 100% sustainable hydrogen-powered green energy telecoms solution. The business was founded in Cambridge (UK) in 2014 and is backed by Europe’s largest operator Deutsche Telekom.  

For more information, visit www.stratosphericplatforms.com

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]]> Airbus partners with Space Compass to serve the Japanese market with mobile connectivity and earth observation solutions https://borntodrone.org/airbus-partners-with-space-compass-to-serve-the-japanese-market-with-mobile-connectivity-and-earth-observation-solutions/ Mon, 07 Nov 2022 08:40:03 +0000 https://www.suasnews.com/?p=88296

Airbus HAPS Connectivity Business (Airbus HAPS) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Space Compass Corporation of Japan (Space Compass) for a cooperation agreement to service the Japanese market with mobile connectivity and earth observation services from the Stratosphere with Airbus’ record breaking Zephyr platform.

Samer Halawi, Chief Executive of Airbus HAPS, commented on the agreement: “Our dedicated team will be working closely with Space Compass to offer 4G/5G low-latency mobile services, at unprecedented economics. Our innovative, record-breaking, green-energy-powered, platform is attracting interest from multiple mobile network operators and satellite and other service providers globally”.

Airbus HAPS is an Airbus subsidiary, which intends to provide new environmentally-friendly services from its stratospheric-operating, Zephyr solar-powered aircraft for Mobile Connectivity, Platform Mobility, Earth Observation and for Government applications. With the ability to provide low-latency 4G/5G services, Zephyr acts as a tower in the sky, complementing terrestrial networks, and providing MNOs with a profitable solution to serve rural and remote areas as well as an emergency response.

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]]> HAPS Alliance White Paper Offers Guidance on Safe, Efficient and Scalable Fleet Operations https://borntodrone.org/haps-alliance-white-paper-offers-guidance-on-safe-efficient-and-scalable-fleet-operations/ Tue, 12 Apr 2022 14:12:16 +0000 https://www.suasnews.com/?p=84582

The HAPS Alliance, an international association of cross-industry players working to enable a High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) ecosystem, today announced the publication of a new white paper, entitled HAPS Operation Using Attended Autonomous Fleet Systems, which is available for free to download.

Written by the HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group, the authoritative paper explains Collaborative Traffic Management for the Stratosphere (CTMS), informed by the principles of Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM), as an operational end-state that enables safe and scalable operations of HAPS vehicles operating at altitude as Attended Autonomous Fleet Systems.

“We wrote our new white paper to better equip the industry with background knowledge on the use of CTMS for autonomous fleet systems. The paper discusses the current approaches to cooperative traffic management solutions, with a look at what’s needed to support the growing number of use cases,” said HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group Chair Andy Thurling. “UTM principles, adapted to this airspace, will allow regulators and operators to test this approach in a low-density, lower-risk environment and adjust best practices quickly based on lessons learned.”

“Sooner than many people expect, fleets of HAPS-enabled unmanned aircraft will be serving diverse connectivity needs. Unlike individual aircraft, fleets of high-altitude vehicles will be required to cooperate and coordinate with each other to handle mobility tasks properly. The HAPS Alliance white paper highlights how a collaborative traffic management approach can enable fleets to leverage HAPS technologies to carry out a range of functionalities, from sensing to maneuvering,” said HAPS Alliance Officer and Treasurer Gregory Ewert. “We are grateful to the HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group members for their contributions to this paper.”

Broad HAPS deployment is on the way. Not only does the HAPS Alliance white paper serve as a guide to support safety and regulatory discussions, it also sets out near- and longer-term steps toward achieving the Alliance’s vision of safe and effective autonomous aircraft operations. With the HAPS market is expected to reach $4 billion in value by 2029, according to Northern Sky Research, telecommunications, technology, aviation and aerospace companies, as well as public and educational institutions, will benefit from the paper’s information and insights to tap into market opportunity and connect the unconnected.

HAPS Alliance Membership Benefits
All companies interested in the HAPS ecosystem are encouraged to become HAPS Alliance members. Alliance membership levels — Principal, General, and Government and Education — are open to organizations in any industry sector. Members have the opportunity to become involved in various membership initiatives, including working groups, member-only meetings, and collaboration with other HAPS Alliance members to work on technology components and use cases for enabling a smarter world.

About the HAPS Alliance
The HAPS Alliance is an industry association of High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) industry leaders that include telecommunications, technology, aviation and aerospace companies, as well as public and educational institutions. United by a vision to address diverse social issues and create new value through the utilization of high-altitude vehicles in the stratosphere, the Alliance is working to accelerate the development and commercial adoption of HAPS technology by promoting and building industry-wide standards, interoperability guidelines and regulatory policies in both the telecommunication and aviation industries. For more information, please visit https://hapsalliance.org/.

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]]> SoftBank Corp. and HAPSMobile Accelerate High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) R&D to provide stable and high-quality connectivity for future commercial services https://borntodrone.org/softbank-corp-and-hapsmobile-accelerate-high-altitude-platform-station-haps-rd-to-provide-stable-and-high-quality-connectivity-for-future-commercial-services/ Thu, 02 Sep 2021 12:23:46 +0000 https://www.suasnews.com/?p=80595 HAPS research results receive awards from Japan’s Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE)

SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”) and its subsidiary HAPSMobile Inc. (“HAPSMobile”) are advancing research and development (R&D) activities in preparation for commercial services that deliver connectivity from the stratosphere with stable and high-quality network coverage using High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) technologies. The companies’ advanced technology research achievements include developing a cylindrical antenna and a rotating connector.

HAPSMobile is developing Sunglider, a HAPS solar-powered unmanned aircraft system (UAS), to provide telecommunications connectivity from the stratosphere to the ground while flying in a circle. One challenge is that the communication area (footprint) projected to the ground cannot be fixed because the footprint shifts as the aircraft turns. To solve this problem, researchers at SoftBank and HAPSMobile developed a cylindrical multi-beam phased array antenna, or cylindrical antenna, that fixes the footprint. By using digital beamforming*1, the technology fixes the footprint on the ground by shifting the direction of radio beams as the aircraft rotates. The cylindrical antenna comprises antenna elements attached both horizontally and vertically, and these can be controlled individually, making it possible to control the beam three-dimensionally in any desired direction. In addition to adapting to the yaw direction of the UAS, the cylindrical antenna can compensate for pitching, rolling, ascending, descending and other aircraft movements. In this way, the technology makes it possible to fix communication areas from the stratosphere.

Automated optimization of communication service area by using a cylindrical antenna

A single HAPS UAS can cover a wide area or diameter of up to 200 km. Accordingly, it can be assumed that within this wide service area, communication needs will vary by location. For example, densely populated areas will have different capacity requirements than mountainous areas that are sparsely populated. By using a cylindrical antenna with digital beamforming technology, the shape and direction of radio beams can be controlled to focus on locations with high population densities and high communication traffic to achieve what is called the automated optimization of communication service areas. This technology optimizes the shape and direction of radio beams depending on peripheral user distribution wherever a HAPS is deployed, and it enhances the communication speeds of each mobile terminal and improves overall network efficiency. This technology is also expected to be used in communication service areas where there are changes dynamically in user distribution, such as when a disaster occurs or when there is a large-scale event. This research was recognized by the Japan’s Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers (IEICE) and received the Young Researcher’s Award*2 in March 2021.Automated optimization of communication coverage area using a cylindrical antenna

Automated optimization of communication coverage area using a cylindrical antenna

3. High capacity communications through Massive MIMO using a cylindrical antenna

Both the extension of communication service areas and increasing communication capacity will be required when deploying commercial HAPS services. Accordingly, SoftBank and HAPSMobile are conducting R&D to enhance communication capacity by extending digital beamforming using cylindrical antennas, and applying Massive MIMO*3, a technology used in 5G, to further increase communication capacity. Cylindrical antennas can also cover wider areas than the planar antennas typically used in Massive MIMO, and at the same time enable uniform communication quality and higher capacity. This research was recognized by IEICE and received the Active Research Award*4 in May 2021.Massive MIMO using a cylindrical antenna

Massive MIMO using a cylindrical antenna

4. Stabilization of communication areas with a rotating connector

To provide stable connectivity from the stratosphere to the ground, stabilizing the communications area position is an important factor. Since a UAS circles above in the stratosphere, the communication antenna direction also shifts as the aircraft turns. As a result, the “moving cell issue” occurs, meaning it is difficult to secure a fixed communication area and provide stable connectivity. To solve this problem, SoftBank and HAPSMobile developed a rotating connector as another footprint fixation technology. The rotating connector is a device that is attached between the communication antenna and the radio housed in the communication equipment (payload) of the aircraft. Since the contact point of the cable that connects the two can rotate endlessly, the direction of the communication antenna can be fixed, even as the aircraft shifts. By utilizing the rotating connector, cable twisting can be prevented, even when multiple antennas are mounted and each of them are paired with multiple radios. By fixing the direction of the communication antennas, the moving cell issue can be solved to provide stable communication services.Rotating connector

Rotating connector

In preparation for commercial HAPS services, SoftBank and HAPSMobile are conducting R&D in a variety of areas. In addition to conducting research on communication areas and network quality, both companies are working to enhance Sunglider’s durability in the demanding conditions of the stratosphere, extend its flight times to enable even longer flight durations and reduce communication equipment (payload) weights. As part of these efforts, SoftBank established the “SoftBank Next-generation Battery Lab” in June 2021 to promote the research and development of next-generation batteries with high energy densities that are lightweight and safe, with a view to applying them to HAPS and other areas.

On the global stage, SoftBank and HAPSMobile are founding members of the HAPS Alliance, an industry association that comprises telecommunications, technology, aviation, and aerospace companies, as well as public and educational institutions. Working closely with Alliance members, SoftBank and HAPSMobile are engaging regulatory authorities in various countries, building a HAPS ecosystem and promoting the standardization and interoperability of HAPS technologies.

HAPSMobile has a proven track record of achievements that include flying its own UAS, Sunglider, in the stratosphere for an extended period of time and successfully making video calls with LTE connectivity delivered from the stratosphere. Both SoftBank and HAPSMobile possess advanced technology and insights related to HAPS. HAPS is also a key part of SoftBank’s Non-terrestrial Network solutions portfolio that provides connectivity from space and the stratosphere. Both companies will continue to work to build global communication networks and prepare for commercial HAPS services.

  • *1A technology that concentrates radio signals in a specific direction by digitally controlling the amplitude and phase of the transmitted signal.
  • *2An award given by IEICE to young researchers under the age of 32 who have presented outstanding research results at general and society conferences.
  • *3A technology that improves antenna gain and realizes advanced space-division multiplexing transmission by using multiple antenna elements.
  • *4An award is given by IEICE to young researchers under the age of 35 who have presented outstanding research papers on communication systems.
  • SoftBank, the SoftBank name and logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of SoftBank Group Corp. in Japan and other countries.
  • HAPSMobile and Sunglider are registered trademarks or trademarks of HAPSMobile Inc.
  • Other company, product and service names in this notice are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective companies.
  • The information is true and accurate at the time of publication. Price, specification, contact and other information of products and service may be subjected to change. The information contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.

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