Government approves the construction of the world's longest drone 'superhighway' in the UK
The 265-km long Project Skyway will connect Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry and Rugby
The government has approved plans to construct the world's largest and longest drone "superhighway" in the UK.
The is being hailed as the most ambitious transport project envisaged for the UK since the inception of the railway network in the 18th century.
The 165-mile Project Skyway was proposed by a consortium that includes software firm Altitude Angel, BT and a number of start-ups
The group says it wishes to unlock the immense potential that unmanned aerial vehicles have to offer. By the middle of 2024, Skyway plans to link the airspace over Reading, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Coventry and Rugby, with the possibility of expanding the corridor to other locations in the UK.
The project is part of a funding package worth £273 million for the aerospace industry that business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will announce today at the Farnborough International Airshow.
The government will provide a total of £105.5 million exclusively for projects involving "integrated aviation systems and new vehicle technology," such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) like drones.
These initiatives include a plan to deploy drones to transport mail and medications on a regular basis to the Isles of Scilly and to distribute medications around Scotland, which may ultimately make it possible for some cancer patients to be treated in their local communities.
Altitude Angel's detect and avoid (DAA) technology will be used on the drone superhighway to prevent flying vehicles from colliding. The technology was developed in 2020 and evaluated in a flight corridor located just south of Reading.
It makes use of ground-based sensors installed along the highway to track drone activity in real time. A traffic management system, which functions as a kind of air traffic control for drones, analyses this data in order to direct the drones along their paths and prevent collisions.
The first superhighway will be built between the Midlands and the Southeast, although Altitude Angel claims it will make the technology accessible so that other towns and cities across the globe may build up their own drone superhighways.
"The capability we are deploying and proving through Skyway can revolutionise the way we transport goods and travel in a way not experienced since the advent of the railways did in the 18th century: the last ' transport revolution '," said Richard Parker, CEO and founder of Altitude Angel.
"Skyway gives us not just the opportunity to ' level up ' access to green transportation across Britain, but we can benefit first and export it globally. We are therefore thrilled to be flying the flag on the global stage for UK Plc," he added.
Dave Pankhurst, BT ' s director of drones, said: "The social and economic potential of drones is immense and requires close industry collaboration to fully unlock these opportunities in a safe and responsible way. It ' s an exciting time to be part of such a powerful consortium."
"Project Skyway will be crucial to showcase how the UK can not only lead the creation of new jobs and public services, but form the backbone of how we integrate drones into our daily lives."