Mr. Philip Kennul of ASTM International
――How are the ASTM standards supporting the progress and initiatives of drone technology in Japan?
“In Japan, a remote ID that can receive drone aircraft information even from a distance has been mandated, and the standard is based on the ASTM standard. Japanese manufacturers implement remote ID by complying with the standard. Besides this, ASTM has developed a parachute device to protect people on the ground in an emergency, a system to detect other aircraft and avoid mid-air collisions, and a drone aircraft durability・We are creating standards for reliability, etc. These can be used as standards for safety evaluation when Japan flies drones beyond visual line of sight in areas with high population density in the future. We are aiming for a drone type certification process based on reliability and reliability, and we believe that the ASTM standard may be adopted as a standard in that process.”
――I heard that ASTM is working on the standardization of a system called DSS that links multiple drone traffic management systems. How far has the standardization work progressed?
“DSS is a system that enables interoperability between drone services. It is a flexible distributed system that is used to connect multiple drone service providers. It can be exchanged.This standard has been used in drone demonstration tests and research projects by governments and industries around the world.Even in Japan, NEC and ANA Holdings are participating in NEDO projects, and Anra Technologies, Inc. In cooperation, a system conforming to ASTM standards was used.”
――Do you have any advice for Japan regarding the implementation of a drone traffic management system?
“The number of drones will multiply many times over in the future, and it is possible that the number of drones flying over cities will far outnumber the number of manned aircraft. is difficult in the usual way, even with state-of-the-art computer systems, so many countries have multiple traffic management systems in the region exchanging data rather than collecting all the data in one central system. and allow them to check flight plans with each other, reducing the computational load on one system and allowing multiple systems to coordinate the management of regional airspace.”
“The system was originally developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with industry. It can be implemented by hardware.Distributed systems connect systems within an area without creating computational bottlenecks.Currently in ASTM, a task group also implements the basic functions defined in an early version of the standard. In addition, we are working on the details of the functions that should be added, such as how to fairly allocate airspace when multiple drones are trying to fly in the same place.”
“Japanese cities are characterized by extremely high population densities. Considering the possibility of many drones flying in Japanese cities, it is important to increase efficiency by utilizing a distributed system in the traffic management system. I believe that Japan can make a significant contribution to the development of ASTM standards in this area and beyond, and I strongly encourage more Japanese companies to participate in interested task groups and subcommittees. Conversely, if Japan does not participate in this process, the interests, technical measures, and market requirements of competing countries will be reflected in the standards, limiting Japan's competitiveness and expansion into the global market. It will be
