Airspace Management Tab - SafeSky ADS-B Integration

The DroneSense ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast) integration significantly enhances situational awareness and airspace safety for drone operators. With this integration, DroneSense enables real-time monitoring of nearby aircraft equipped with ADS-B transponders by displaying their positions on the platform's interface. This feature is valuable for both operational planning and in-flight awareness, as it helps avoid potential conflicts in shared airspace. Key settings include configuring the Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) and the Well Clear boundaries, which provide a safety threshold that alerts operators when an aircraft is within a dangerously close range of their drone. This boundary setting allows the system to monitor the distance between the drone and other manned aircraft, generating real-time alerts if another aircraft crosses into this predefined boundary. For drone operators, setting an NMAC boundary enables proactive decision-making, allowing them to adjust flight paths or altitudes to avoid potential collisions.

This is particularly valuable in regulated or congested airspaces, as it gives operators a clear and customizable "safety bubble" around the drone, ensuring compliant separation from manned aircraft and reducing risk to both air and ground safety.

The Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) further enhances safety by providing visual alerts when another aircraft is approaching within a specified range, prompting preemptive actions to maintain safe separation. Together, these settings form a robust framework for preventing mid-air collisions and supporting safe, compliant drone operations in increasingly crowded airspaces.

The ADS-B Integration Settings can be edited and adjusted to meet the user's operational needs. 

Within DroneSense, the ADS-B integration settings can be found by navigating to DroneSense Remote and clicking the Airspace Management icon. 

This will open the Airspace Management Tab. This screen will allow the user to Activate the SafeSky ADS-B integration.  

Once the ADS-B integration has been enabled, the user can adjust the Maximum Altitude Filter in (ft MSL) or "feet above mean sea level," a unit used in aviation and mapping to measure altitude. When altitudes are given in feet MSL, they indicate the height of an object, such as an aircraft or drone, relative to the average sea level, not the ground level at a particular location.

Filtering aircraft based on feet above mean sea level will allow for only relative aircraft being displayed on the screen rather than those that would have no effect on Drone Operations, such as a commercial aircraft traveling at 30,000 feet MSL. 

SafeSky ADS-B Statuses 

To activate the SafeSky ADS-B, the user must toggle on the radio button. 

The SafeSky ADS-B system displays three status indicators. 

• Online
• Inactive 
• Offline 

An Online Status indicates that the system is receiving ADS-B data and that an active ADS-B beacon has flown into the selected map area.

An Inactive Status indicates the system has had 15 seconds of Application Programming Interface (API) failures.  

An Offline Status indicates the system is disconnected or has had more than 5 minutes of API failures. 

SafeSky ADS-B Settings

To edit SafeSky Settings, the user must click the three dots to open the SafeSky Settings menu. 

In this Settings Menu, the Maximum Altitude Filter can be set, as well as the following: 

• Aircraft Type Visiblity 
• Transponder Type Visibility 
• Exclude Aircraft IDs 

In the Aircraft Type Visibility Setting, all aircraft types are selected for visibility by default; the user can edit which aircraft types are visible. 

In the Transponder Type Visibility Setting, all transponder types are selected for visibility by default; the user can edit which transponder types are visible. 

Once activated, the exclude Aircraft IDs settings allow the Tail number to be placed in this section so that it is not displayed. 

TCAS and Alerts 

Clicking on the Alerts Icon in the Airspace Management Tab allows the user to configure the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. 

The Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System settings help establish the NMAC and Well-clear boundary areas for flight operations.

The User Interface will Display the following based on alert type: 

• Aircraft within the Resolution Advisory Area (Horizontal and Vertical) will display as Red, and require immediate evasive action to avoid a potential collision. This alert prompts the operator to adjust the drone's altitude or heading to maintain safe separation from the approaching aircraft, following the advisories provided by the collision avoidance system.
• Aircraft within the Traffic Advisory Area (Horizontal and Vertical) will display as Yellow and require heightened awareness and monitoring by the operator to assess any potential need for future evasive action. This alert signals that another aircraft is approaching and could pose a risk if it enters closer airspace, prompting the operator to prepare for possible maneuvers.
• Aircraft within the Primoximate Traffic Area (Horizontal and Vertical) will display as Blue and indicate nearby traffic that does not currently pose a collision risk but should be monitored by the operator. This advisory serves as an early awareness alert, allowing the operator to track nearby aircraft movements and be prepared if the situation changes or if the aircraft moves into a closer alert area.  

Display Settings 

Clicking the Display Settings Icon within the Airspace Management Tab will allow the user to edit the following Information:

Primary Altitude information can be provided in the following: 

• Relative - is the altitude of the aircraft or drone relative to a specific point, such as the Drone itself or a fixed object.  Typically, this will be relative to the drone being displayed. 
• AGL - Above Ground Level 
• MSL - Mean Sea Level

Secondary Altitude information can provide the following: 

• AGL - Above Ground Level 
• MSL - Mean Sea Level 
• None - No Data 

Display Altitude radio button allows for the aircraft's altitude to be displayed. 

Display Velocity radio button allows for the aircraft speed to be displayed. 

Display Identification radio button allows for the aircraft's registration number to be displayed. 

Display 2 Minute Flight Path radio button will display a white and black dashed line in front of the aircraft that is calculated based on the aircraft course and speed to provide its estimated position in 2 minutes.  Providing excellent early warning that the aircraft will enter the drone operational area. 

Display Vertical Trend radio button allows for the aircrafts vertical trend to be displayed in an visual reference of an up arrow or down arrow for the aircraft. 

(Example of Vertical Trend Indicator)

(Example: toggling the buttons will adjust the size of the information box as needed based on user preference.)