BUBBLES: A new concept of operations for separation management in the U-space

BUBBLES (Defining the building basic blocks for a U-space separation management service) is an Exploratory Research project funded by SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) that aims to define a new Concept of Operations (ConOps) to provide separation management by means of the U-space. In the context of this project, this work defines the principles on which separation management in the U-space is based, as well as the basic building blocks that support the separation management service and how they should be assembled and operated. One of the most important challenges in conflict management is the selection of appropriate separation minima. In this sense, this work proposes the calculation of dynamic separation minima, which are adapted to the traffic class, the operational environment, and the Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance (CNS) systems performance, and validates it by means of test-flights in a rural environment.