NASA plans major test of drone management system

A NASA-developed air traffic control system for drones could take a major step forward this week when up to 24 drones take to the skies from locations across the U.S. in the agency's first coordinated test. Called UTM, for unmanned aircraft system traffic management, the platform is seen as a key safety system that would allow greater numbers of drones to fly in the sky and avoid mid-air collisions with piloted aircraft and other drones. It allows drone operators to enter a flight plan and request clearance for the flight. The system checks the plan for conflicts with other planned drone flights and accepts or rejects it. For example, a farmer could program a drone flight above her land, effectively reserving it for a certain period of time, and then carry out the flight in the knowledge that a delivery drone scheduled to arrive at the same time will automatically calculate a path to avoid a collision.