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[ Music ]

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>> Our world is full of
new and exciting inventions

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that continue to
push the boundaries

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of technology forward.

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Every day, it seems something
new is announced, developed,

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and implemented that
changes how humans interact.

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Just in the past few decades,
cell phones, internet speed,

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medical breakthroughs,
and the reinvention

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of basic infrastructure is
beginning to change the norms

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in our everyday lives.

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But have you considered how
these changes in science,

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engineering, and medicine occur?

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To most of us on the outside of
these revolutionary practices,

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it seems like magic
when innovations appear

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in our lives overnight.

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In reality, it's years
of painstaking work,

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trial and error,
and rigorous testing

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that occurs before a finished
product is ever realized.

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Researchers in the world of
engineering and science move

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in small incremental steps,
slowly building a case

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for these new revelations

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until they are sure
technologies are ready

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to be shared with the world.

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In fact, there is an old saying
in research, "An amateur works

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on a task until they get it
right, but a professional works

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on a task until they
can't get it wrong."

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Fortunately for all of us
over the past few years, NASA,

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the FAA, and industry have been
engineering the next big idea

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that may completely change
how we interact in our world

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with the implementation
of unmanned aircraft.

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The idea for inclusion of
these aircraft is not new.

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The basic concept for small
flying vehicles has been

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in popular culture and in the
limelight for quite some time.

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But until recently,

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these vehicles have rapidly
accelerated off the drawing

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board and into the skies.

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Over the past few years,
NASA has been testing

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and validating research
associated

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with unmanned aircraft through a
project called Unmanned Aircraft

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System integration in the
National Airspace System

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or UAS in the NAS project.

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This project spanned several
years and addressed many

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of the early concerns

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of how unmanned aircraft
would be integrated

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into our National Airspace.

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After years of study, the UAS in
the NAS project has tackled many

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of the early concerns.

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But one last big hurdle remains

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to successfully demonstrate
how unmanned aircraft will work

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in harmony within the
National Airspace.

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With this in mind,
the final phase

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of testing called the
Systems Integration

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and Operationalization
demonstration activity

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or SIO has begun in earnest.

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Throughout our country at
various NASA field centers

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and other testing locations,

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NASA has assembled a core
strategic group of researchers

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to analyze and test
unmanned aircraft

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through the SIO demonstration.

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Some of the key flight
activities will include using

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various sized unmanned
aircraft built

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by three different companies

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to highlight commercial UAS
missions that have the potential

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to provide economic and public
benefit to the American people.

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Throughout the testing, NASA
plans to document best practices

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and lessons learned from the
SIO activity and provide it

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to the UAS community
to prepare us

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for routine commercial
Unmanned Aircraft Operations

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in our communities.

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On this episode of NASA X, we
will take a look back at years

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of testing and development
that have led

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up to the SIO demonstration
flights.

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And we'll meet the
companies that are helping

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to make these flights happen.

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This research and
engineering has the potential

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to influence a massive shift
in how we receive products

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and services and may
ultimately make an impact

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on how people travel and
interact in our world.

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[ Music ]

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To understand why
the NASA team has set

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up the SIO demonstrations,
we first have to look

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at why integrating unmanned
aircraft into the NAS is

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such a herculean effort.

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Here in the United States,

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we arguably have the best
air traffic management system

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in the entire world.

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During normal times around
50,000 flights take off

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and land daily, with nearly
3 million airline passengers

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traveling across the more
than 29 million square miles

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that make up the U.S.
National Airspace System.

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In that system, close to
15,000 air traffic controllers,

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4,500 aviation safety inspectors
and 5,800 technicians operate

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and maintain services for
our National Airspace System,

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or NAS.

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It has more than 19,000 airports

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and 600 air traffic
control facilities.

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In all, there are 41,000
NAS operational facilities

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and over 71,000 pieces
of equipment,

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ranging from radar systems to
communication relay stations.

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With all of this infrastructure,

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integrating unmanned
aircraft systems

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into the NAS will be
demanding to say the least.

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But this integration is of
vital importance to our country

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because these new vehicles will
be part of the next revolution

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in national security and
defense, emergency management,

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science, and in commercial
applications.

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For these reasons and
more NASA set out in 2009,

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to work on several main
objectives for the project

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that included providing
research findings

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that utilized simulation
and flight tests.

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Supporting the development and
validation of detect and avoid,

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and command and control
technologies.

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And finally, the SIO
demonstrations themselves.

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Two of the biggest challenges

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that needed solutions before the
SIO demonstrations could take

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place was in the key
areas of detect and avoid,

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and command and control.

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For detect and avoid, one of
the primary safety concerns

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with integrating these new
systems is the inability

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of remote operators to see
and avoid other aircraft.

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On all flights with pilots on
board, the FAA requires the crew

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to be aware of all other
surrounding aircraft,

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either visually or using
onboard instrumentation.

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So in addition to instruments,
the pilot physically looks

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out of the window to help
safely avoid other aircraft.

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Because unmanned aircraft
literally don't have a pilot

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on board, NASA and its partners
worked on concepts and designs

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that allowed safe operation
within the National Airspace.

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>> What detect and avoid
is, is since the pilot

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for an unmanned aircraft
is either remote --

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off the aircraft, or not
there at all in the case

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of an autonomous aircraft,
there is no human eyeballs

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to go see other aircraft.

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So the technology needs to be
developed to use other means

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such as radars or cameras
to be able to detect

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where other aircraft are
flying in the proximity

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of your aircraft --
your unmanned aircraft.

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And then be able to somehow,

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like a pilot would avoid
those other aircraft.

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And the way that's done is

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through developing some
mathematical algorithms

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to be able to direct
the aircraft

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to a location that
would be safe.

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And so that's the kind of
research that NASA wanted

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to focus on because that was
the most critical aspect of how

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to safely integrate
unmanned aircraft

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into the National Airspace.

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That industry at large
could not really understand.

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>> The second hurdle was
with command and control.

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Because unmanned aircraft
are completely different

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from crewed aircraft,
new techniques needed

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to be developed, including
improving the avionics onboard

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the UAS and on the ground.

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These aircraft must
have reliable, safe,

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and secure data connections
at all times while operating

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in the complex environment
of controlled airspace.

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>> Similarly, the command
and control part of the U.S.

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and the NAS project
is based on the fact

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that most radio communications
that are operated

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in the airspace now with
pilots are voice communication.

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So it's a pilot talking to
an air traffic controller

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or talking to other pilots.

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And they use voice to do that.

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Well, so the aviation
spectrum that's been set aside

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for voice control doesn't
work for an electronic control

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because if you're going
to control the aircraft

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through some sort of
communication and methodology,

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it's got to be done
electronically.

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Because you're sending a message
to the aircraft to be able

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to turn or to be able to
climb or descend, etcetera.

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And so the technology that NASA
worked on was to develop a radio

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that could be used
in that bandwidth --

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that spectrum bandwidth to be
able to send electronic messages

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to and from the vehicle and thus
be able to command the vehicle.

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So that's why the command and
control work that's been done

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under the UAS and the NAS
project is so important.

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[ Music ]

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>> Over the years, researchers
time and time again showed

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that they had developed the
detect and avoid, and command

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and control technology
to the point

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where it could be reliably
tested in real-world conditions.

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Although there were other flight
demonstrations throughout this

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project, the last major hurdle

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of flying the SIO
demonstration is now at hand.

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NASA in partnership with the FAA

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and industry partners have
begun the demonstrations

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of potential commercial
applications using different

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sizes of unmanned
aircraft systems

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for the SIO demonstrations.

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The goal of SIO is to work
toward commercial UAS operations

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in the NAS.

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In order to accomplish this
goal, NASA has partnered

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with three pioneering companies
to conduct flight demonstrations

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in the NAS that emulate
commercial missions

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and begin working toward
Federal Aviation Administration,

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or FAA type certification.

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>> When NASA was selecting
the partners for SIO,

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we went through a
partnership process

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that included the evaluation of
a number of candidate partners.

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And we were looking
for some key aspects

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that these partners
could bring to the table.

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And so the first was really
great domain knowledge

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in unmanned aircraft and
associated technologies.

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The second attribute was
knowledge of certification

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and the knowledge that's
really needed to kind

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of take these vehicles
from the concept

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and early development stages

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through to becoming
a commercial product.

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And then the third
thing we were looking

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for are viable commercial
missions,

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that would be publicly
beneficial.

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We really wanted to showcase
how unmanned aircraft can play a

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role in the future of the world
and have a positive impact.

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There's three different
companies that are participating

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in the SIO activity;

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Bell General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems, and AATI.

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Bell is bringing their APT70
unmanned aircraft, which is --

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weighs approximately 300
pounds and is capable

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of vertical takeoff and landing

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and operations around
urban areas.

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The primary mission
that they're focused

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on is emergency medical supply
transportation in an urban area.

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General Atomics is utilizing
their SkyGuardian unmanned

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aircraft for multimodal
long-endurance

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infrastructure inspection.

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That unmanned aircraft weighs
approximately 12,000 pounds

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so it's much bigger than the
others that are participating

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in SIO, and is intended

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for an infrastructure
inspection mission

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at altitudes above 10,000 feet.

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ATTI is using their
AiRanger unmanned aircraft,

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which is approximately
180 pounds

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for a pipeline inspection
mission at lower altitudes

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between 1,000 and 5,000 feet.

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And then lastly,
throughout this process,

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we've been collaborating
with the FAA

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who has provided extraordinary
support and helped us

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to navigate the regulatory
process that's in place

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for these demonstration
activities.

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>> The three partner companies
are each using various-sized

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and different types of
unmanned aircraft configured

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for the SIO demonstrations.

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>> For the past several years,

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actually going back
probably a couple of decades,

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NASA has been working
on UAS first,

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more in the technical side,

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and now maybe more
on the standard side.

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And I think SIO activity was
looking or the objective was

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to address some of the
gaps that still remained.

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00:13:14,136 --> 00:13:18,176
And one of the ways that we were
able to do that is by partnering

251
00:13:18,176 --> 00:13:21,136
with some companies to go
after some of these things.

252
00:13:22,196 --> 00:13:25,116
The outcome of the
demonstrations is to try

253
00:13:25,116 --> 00:13:28,746
to help the companies really
get their arms around some

254
00:13:28,746 --> 00:13:31,476
of these barriers
that still exist.

255
00:13:32,386 --> 00:13:36,626
Work with the FAA to develop
the processes and solutions

256
00:13:36,626 --> 00:13:40,416
to be able to address some of
these gaps and then bring it

257
00:13:40,606 --> 00:13:45,226
to a place where the industry
can learn off of those lessons.

258
00:13:46,166 --> 00:13:48,556
The aircraft that
are participating

259
00:13:48,556 --> 00:13:51,116
in the SIO activity
are pretty unique,

260
00:13:51,116 --> 00:13:54,426
and they span quite a range.

261
00:13:54,536 --> 00:13:57,156
You've got airplanes
and propulsion systems

262
00:13:57,156 --> 00:13:58,166
that are all-electric.

263
00:13:58,626 --> 00:14:00,186
You got a turboprop.

264
00:14:00,706 --> 00:14:02,296
Another one is a piston-powered.

265
00:14:02,296 --> 00:14:05,986
So from a propulsion side,
they're pretty distinct.

266
00:14:06,166 --> 00:14:09,016
And then even if you look at
the way that they just operate,

267
00:14:09,536 --> 00:14:10,526
you know, one takes off,

268
00:14:10,936 --> 00:14:13,096
like a conventional
airplane would take off

269
00:14:13,246 --> 00:14:14,916
from a commercial airport.

270
00:14:15,756 --> 00:14:19,526
Another one can basically
launch off of almost anywhere

271
00:14:19,666 --> 00:14:21,736
and just land on some clearing.

272
00:14:22,116 --> 00:14:25,106
And then another one actually
can take off also from anywhere,

273
00:14:25,166 --> 00:14:28,056
just vertically and then --
and again, landing vertically.

274
00:14:28,636 --> 00:14:31,056
So quite a range
even in altitudes

275
00:14:31,056 --> 00:14:32,196
in the way that they operate.

276
00:14:32,196 --> 00:14:35,036
Some of them were designed
to operate lower altitude.

277
00:14:35,106 --> 00:14:38,366
Some of them were designed
to be able to go pretty high

278
00:14:38,726 --> 00:14:40,976
than maybe 40,000 feet.

279
00:14:41,076 --> 00:14:45,166
>> Each company offers a unique
perspective and engineering goal

280
00:14:45,416 --> 00:14:47,116
in performing the SIO tests.

281
00:14:48,406 --> 00:14:50,876
>> So Bell's participation
in NASA SIO is really

282
00:14:50,876 --> 00:14:54,926
about making sure we get the
data that the regulators need

283
00:14:55,226 --> 00:14:58,276
to be able to understand not
just the aircraft requirements,

284
00:14:58,316 --> 00:15:00,266
but the system environments
for being able

285
00:15:00,266 --> 00:15:02,646
to get advanced aerial
mobility actually

286
00:15:02,746 --> 00:15:07,496
into commercial space integrated
with the rest of aviation

287
00:15:07,496 --> 00:15:08,566
in the National Airspace.

288
00:15:08,856 --> 00:15:11,036
Bell's actually been doing
unmanned aerial vehicles

289
00:15:11,036 --> 00:15:11,946
for quite some time.

290
00:15:11,946 --> 00:15:13,806
From a commercial
standpoint, APT is,

291
00:15:13,806 --> 00:15:15,016
you know, a sizable vehicle.

292
00:15:15,576 --> 00:15:16,986
You know, a little
over 300 pounds

293
00:15:16,986 --> 00:15:18,556
to carry 70 pounds of payload.

294
00:15:19,046 --> 00:15:21,696
It's critical that we get
this right so that we are safe

295
00:15:21,696 --> 00:15:23,136
and compliant in the airspace.

296
00:15:23,136 --> 00:15:24,736
And that's a part of what
NASA science is about.

297
00:15:24,986 --> 00:15:28,806
They're a trusted data provider
for the FAA and other regulators

298
00:15:29,096 --> 00:15:32,696
to be able to help us understand
what really is required

299
00:15:32,816 --> 00:15:36,586
for the aircraft, for the
airspace requirements,

300
00:15:36,586 --> 00:15:38,756
and then for the integration
of those systems together.

301
00:15:39,116 --> 00:15:41,796
So NASA's involvement
helps drive the technology

302
00:15:41,796 --> 00:15:44,066
to a high enough level that
we have sufficient data

303
00:15:44,066 --> 00:15:45,336
for the FAA to make regulations.

304
00:15:46,046 --> 00:15:48,706
I would say the way it's being
done right now is innovative.

305
00:15:48,706 --> 00:15:52,046
You see NEO-NASA leaning
forward with electric

306
00:15:52,046 --> 00:15:55,576
and hybrid propulsion, as well
as you know detect and avoid

307
00:15:55,576 --> 00:15:57,206
and some of the things that
we need for the airspace.

308
00:15:57,206 --> 00:15:58,936
You see the FAA leaning
forward based

309
00:15:58,936 --> 00:16:01,836
on their small unmanned
experience and knowing

310
00:16:02,146 --> 00:16:04,646
that we need to get out in front
of this, this time to make sure

311
00:16:04,646 --> 00:16:06,526
that we do it right as we
get to larger vehicles.

312
00:16:07,046 --> 00:16:10,376
And so that partnership and
kind of active arrangement

313
00:16:10,376 --> 00:16:12,286
of let's discover together

314
00:16:12,286 --> 00:16:14,836
and work together
towards what's both safe

315
00:16:14,836 --> 00:16:19,576
and economically viable as an
overall community is really new.

316
00:16:20,516 --> 00:16:37,866
[ Music ]

317
00:16:38,366 --> 00:16:41,856
>> On this particular
mission, the APT70 was armed

318
00:16:41,936 --> 00:16:44,996
from a ground control
station, then was instructed

319
00:16:44,996 --> 00:16:47,036
to initiate a vertical takeoff.

320
00:16:47,726 --> 00:16:51,136
Per its design, it then
rotated to fly on its wings,

321
00:16:51,506 --> 00:16:54,356
where it was nearly silent
to the researchers below.

322
00:16:54,766 --> 00:16:57,696
It flew at an altitude of
500 feet above ground level.

323
00:16:57,936 --> 00:17:01,686
Transitioned in and out of class
B airspace, all while staying

324
00:17:01,686 --> 00:17:04,336
in constant communication
with the ground station

325
00:17:04,336 --> 00:17:05,976
through a redundant data link.

326
00:17:06,726 --> 00:17:10,026
Onboard was the prototype
airborne detect and avoid system

327
00:17:10,346 --> 00:17:13,526
that provided the remote pilot
with awareness of air traffic

328
00:17:13,526 --> 00:17:16,256
in the vicinity and
recommended flight maneuvers.

329
00:17:17,136 --> 00:17:20,686
Initial results were promising
with more validation and testing

330
00:17:20,686 --> 00:17:22,046
to continue in the future.

331
00:17:23,026 --> 00:17:26,526
Another partner General Atomics
aeronautical systems Inc,

332
00:17:26,746 --> 00:17:30,096
or GA flew their sky
guardian aircraft.

333
00:17:31,306 --> 00:17:33,796
It had been used for unmanned
missions for many years,

334
00:17:34,166 --> 00:17:36,466
totaling more than 6
million flight hours.

335
00:17:37,366 --> 00:17:40,696
For this NASA mission, a demo
aircraft piloted remotely

336
00:17:40,696 --> 00:17:43,016
from California flew
for nine hours

337
00:17:43,016 --> 00:17:45,786
from its great youth flight
operations facility near

338
00:17:45,786 --> 00:17:48,306
Palmdale California
to Yuma Arizona.

339
00:17:49,016 --> 00:17:51,566
Data was collected from
the detect and avoid system

340
00:17:51,566 --> 00:17:53,536
to provide situational awareness

341
00:17:53,796 --> 00:17:55,776
of air traffic near
the sky guardian.

342
00:17:56,946 --> 00:17:58,816
This system includes
a traffic alert

343
00:17:58,816 --> 00:18:01,736
and collision avoidance
system, used unmanned aircraft

344
00:18:02,146 --> 00:18:03,666
which fly in civil airspace.

345
00:18:04,166 --> 00:18:07,816
And air-to-air radar to detect
and track nearby aircraft

346
00:18:08,016 --> 00:18:09,976
that may not have
active transponders.

347
00:18:10,516 --> 00:18:15,156
[ Music ]

348
00:18:15,656 --> 00:18:18,756
The particular aircraft in
this test may provide services

349
00:18:18,786 --> 00:18:22,066
that include hundreds of
miles of inspections of rail,

350
00:18:22,416 --> 00:18:25,526
power line communication,
and canal infrastructure,

351
00:18:25,946 --> 00:18:28,726
agriculture monitoring
and topological surveys,

352
00:18:29,186 --> 00:18:31,556
as well as wildfire
and flood monitoring.

353
00:18:32,246 --> 00:18:35,226
According to GA CEO Linden Blue,

354
00:18:35,586 --> 00:18:39,106
"GA's work with NASA is
opening the eyes of regulators

355
00:18:39,196 --> 00:18:42,586
to the safety and utility
of unmanned aircraft systems

356
00:18:42,586 --> 00:18:44,316
in the performance
of certain tasks

357
00:18:44,796 --> 00:18:47,276
for public and commercial good."

358
00:18:48,046 --> 00:18:49,626
Researchers believe these types

359
00:18:49,626 --> 00:18:53,066
of aircraft will also play an
important role during crisis

360
00:18:53,116 --> 00:18:55,696
management events such
as wildfire containment.

361
00:18:56,256 --> 00:18:59,716
The onboard airborne sensors
can see through thick smoke,

362
00:18:59,986 --> 00:19:02,596
enabling the craft to
inform ground personnel

363
00:19:02,846 --> 00:19:04,856
about the location of fire lines

364
00:19:05,096 --> 00:19:07,756
so they can deploy
resources more efficiently.

365
00:19:08,166 --> 00:19:11,786
The SIO demonstration also
highlighted how the aircraft can

366
00:19:11,786 --> 00:19:15,786
be used for many other civilian
and commercial missions as well.

367
00:19:19,606 --> 00:19:22,236
The third demonstration
flight was a team

368
00:19:22,236 --> 00:19:25,476
from American aerospace
technologies Incorporated

369
00:19:25,476 --> 00:19:26,376
or AATI.

370
00:19:26,996 --> 00:19:30,356
Although AATI's craft
was considerably smaller

371
00:19:30,356 --> 00:19:33,806
than the other test vehicles,
its use case was invaluable.

372
00:19:34,216 --> 00:19:38,486
It can fly at medium altitudes
and carry advanced sensors used

373
00:19:38,486 --> 00:19:41,646
to patrol our nation's
more than 500,000 miles

374
00:19:41,646 --> 00:19:43,116
of midstream pipelines.

375
00:19:43,556 --> 00:19:46,966
Providing a fundamentally
new and unique capability

376
00:19:47,296 --> 00:19:50,296
that changes the way we
manage health, safety,

377
00:19:50,296 --> 00:19:54,766
and the environment, respond to
disasters, optimize operations

378
00:19:54,876 --> 00:19:56,416
and leverage human capital.

379
00:19:57,046 --> 00:19:59,156
>> So the mission itself
serves multiple purposes.

380
00:19:59,156 --> 00:20:02,036
We're proving out the
capability of beyond visual line

381
00:20:02,036 --> 00:20:04,166
of sight UAS and the
National Airspace.

382
00:20:04,626 --> 00:20:07,486
And the specific applicability
for this mission is

383
00:20:07,486 --> 00:20:08,866
that we are looking for ways

384
00:20:08,866 --> 00:20:12,656
to make critical infrastructure
inspection processes safer

385
00:20:12,656 --> 00:20:13,596
and more efficient.

386
00:20:14,126 --> 00:20:17,346
And so for this specific
mission, the AiRanger took off

387
00:20:17,346 --> 00:20:19,776
from our launch and
recovery site.

388
00:20:20,266 --> 00:20:24,796
And we flew downrange
along an oil pipeline,

389
00:20:24,796 --> 00:20:25,906
which is buried underground.

390
00:20:26,186 --> 00:20:28,826
And we performed an
inspection of the right

391
00:20:28,826 --> 00:20:29,826
of way of that pipeline.

392
00:20:30,016 --> 00:20:32,606
And we are proving out
not only the applicability

393
00:20:32,606 --> 00:20:35,286
for critical infrastructure
itself, but we're proving

394
00:20:35,286 --> 00:20:39,206
out the safety case for actually
operating UAS and the NAS.

395
00:20:39,476 --> 00:20:42,276
Not only utilizing the
aircraft technology for flight,

396
00:20:42,616 --> 00:20:45,606
but also utilizing different
technologies for safety,

397
00:20:45,646 --> 00:20:49,046
such as detecting
avoid systems ADS-B,

398
00:20:49,226 --> 00:20:51,716
and flight radar
notification systems

399
00:20:51,716 --> 00:20:54,786
for having situational
awareness of not only what's

400
00:20:54,786 --> 00:20:57,126
in the airspace around us,
but being able to tell others

401
00:20:57,126 --> 00:20:58,736
in the airspace that
we're flying as well.

402
00:20:59,046 --> 00:21:03,456
In my opinion, to safely
regulate and certify these types

403
00:21:03,456 --> 00:21:06,176
of aircraft to fly,
you have to prove

404
00:21:06,176 --> 00:21:07,446
out three different things.

405
00:21:07,876 --> 00:21:10,066
You have to prove out that
the aircraft itself is

406
00:21:10,066 --> 00:21:11,366
mission capable.

407
00:21:11,366 --> 00:21:15,156
You have to prove that the
aircraft is dynamically capable

408
00:21:15,156 --> 00:21:16,866
to change for different
conditions.

409
00:21:17,196 --> 00:21:18,806
And you also most importantly,

410
00:21:18,806 --> 00:21:19,986
have to prove out
the safety case.

411
00:21:20,466 --> 00:21:22,866
And so utilizing different
types of technology,

412
00:21:22,906 --> 00:21:25,226
utilizing different
processes and workflows,

413
00:21:25,496 --> 00:21:28,446
building the safety case
around operating procedures,

414
00:21:28,756 --> 00:21:30,976
and integrating all of
these different components.

415
00:21:31,476 --> 00:21:33,476
Aside from the actual
flight itself,

416
00:21:33,736 --> 00:21:37,476
really build the roadmap, really
set the stage for the rest

417
00:21:37,476 --> 00:21:38,956
of the industry to
say, "Hey look,

418
00:21:39,446 --> 00:21:41,266
this is what the
infrastructure looks like.

419
00:21:41,316 --> 00:21:43,716
This is what the framework
looks like to do this

420
00:21:43,716 --> 00:21:45,976
on an operational
basis in the future."

421
00:21:46,056 --> 00:21:49,006
>> Although the SIO
demonstrations are now complete,

422
00:21:49,056 --> 00:21:52,426
NASA and industry will
continue to move forward

423
00:21:52,566 --> 00:21:55,956
with exciting new
technologies and hardware built

424
00:21:55,956 --> 00:21:59,726
on the foundation of successful
data collection and testing

425
00:21:59,956 --> 00:22:01,476
from the SIO activity.

426
00:22:01,706 --> 00:22:04,376
The future of unmanned
aircraft is bright.

427
00:22:04,376 --> 00:22:08,126
UAS will continue to
advance scientific research,

428
00:22:08,126 --> 00:22:10,636
benefit environmental
protection,

429
00:22:10,636 --> 00:22:15,356
assist with disaster mitigation,
and move more people and goods

430
00:22:15,596 --> 00:22:18,226
to their desired
destinations safely

431
00:22:18,506 --> 00:22:20,846
and efficiently for
decades to come.

432
00:22:21,146 --> 00:22:24,506
>> This was just the results of
a project with a specific goal

433
00:22:24,506 --> 00:22:27,256
that we had within
NASA aeronautics,

434
00:22:27,746 --> 00:22:28,946
but it's certainly not the end.

435
00:22:29,076 --> 00:22:32,826
I mean, integrating UAS into
the National Airspace is an

436
00:22:32,886 --> 00:22:33,936
evolving thing.

437
00:22:33,936 --> 00:22:35,306
There are many more challenges.

438
00:22:35,336 --> 00:22:36,576
There are many more use cases

439
00:22:36,576 --> 00:22:37,876
that the industry is
going to come up with.

440
00:22:38,516 --> 00:22:39,836
And so we're sensitive to that.

441
00:22:39,936 --> 00:22:41,636
And we're keeping an eye on that

442
00:22:41,636 --> 00:22:43,706
so that we can really
align our research

443
00:22:43,706 --> 00:22:45,906
with those areas
that are emerging.

444
00:22:45,906 --> 00:22:49,696
And hopefully, so that we can
enable those to really be --

445
00:22:49,776 --> 00:22:52,886
to come into fruition for the
benefit of the American public.

446
00:22:53,546 --> 00:22:56,216
And so as we start up
new projects, you know,

447
00:22:56,216 --> 00:22:59,586
we'll leverage our experience
with UAS in the NAS project.

448
00:23:00,056 --> 00:23:03,316
But we'll do it into new
areas, whether it's autonomy

449
00:23:03,316 --> 00:23:06,676
or other areas of research,
that will really enable a lot

450
00:23:06,676 --> 00:23:08,916
of these use cases and bring