Determining Maximum Airspace Capacity Via Simulation

Abstract

This paper addresses the problem of how many unmanned aerial vehicles can fit into a volume of airspace by employing an iterative simulation process. This simulation process was divided into three phases. The first phase addressed the question of how many unmanned aerial vehicles would fit into a predetermined volume of Class-G airspace if each unmanned aerial vehicle had equivalent velocities and separation times. The second phase examined how many collisions would occur in fixed volume of airspace if the headings, velocities, minimum separation times, starting positions of the unmanned aerial vehicles were altered. The final phase repeated the methodology of the previous phase but in three dimensional space.