High Lander and INVOLI Partner to Combine UTM and Low-Altitude ATM, Making Unified Airspace a Reality
High Lander, a global provider of drone fleet management (DFM) and UAS traffic management (UTM) software solutions, and INVOLI, a leading provider of air traffic surveillance hardware and software solutions, have signed a strategic partnership to merge manned aerial traffic surveillance and UTM in low altitude airspaces.
The result of this collaboration is a suite of unmanned air traffic management services which is uniquely holistic. As beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) approval submissions balloon and market-ready advanced air mobility (AAM) solutions await the final go-ahead, High Lander and INVOLI offer a new best practice for aviation authorities to incorporate surveillance data into their UAS traffic management systems, providing an extra layer of safety and enabling new ecosystems to flourish in both controlled and uncontrolled airspaces.
“We are delighted to partner with INVOLI. The company’s impressive solution bolsters the e-conspicuity of manned aircraft flying at low altitudes, which is critical for effective ecosystem-wide deconfliction, and safe BVLOS and AAM operations” said Alon Abelson, co-founder and CEO of High Lander. “We’re now able to provide this data along with UAS traffic management and geo-awareness management under one roof. This is a significant step towards full amalgamation of UTM and ATM, which ANSPs understand is an essential condition for the seamless integration of UAS into busy airspaces at scale.”
Sharing a vision of pioneering UAS infrastructure enabling manned and unmanned aircraft to operate in harmony, High Lander and INVOLI recognized the complementary nature of their solutions.
High Lander’s Vega UTM provides a complete infrastructure for UAS traffic management: live UAS traffic monitoring, flight plan approvals for drone pilots accessed via mobile app, strategic and tactical deconfliction, conformance monitoring, NOTAMs, a weather service, and more. These capabilities are enhanced by INVOLI.live’s coverage of low-altitude general aviation that leverages MLAT for Mode S and Mode A/C transponders in addition to ADS-B and UAT. INVOLI data is delivered with low latency, backed by the failsafes of an aviation-grade Safety Management System (SMS). The quality and reliability of the data streams make INVOLI.live particularly suited for BVLOS and AAM operations, because it enables would-be operators to match regulatory performance requirements to achieve approval.
In terms of integration with High Lander solutions, this data is applied across the board to enrich real-time system data and reinforce the autonomous safety mechanisms of Orion DFM and Vega UTM. Recently, High Lander launched the Vega Common Information Service (Vega CIS), providing ecosystem-wide geo-awareness management and data synchronization. Vega CIS enables Dynamic Airspace Reconfiguration (DAR), or adjustment of UAS permissions in the face of manned air traffic; INVOLI data will help ensure conspicuity at altitudes likely to contain UAS operations, ensuring that authorities are able to make accurate operational decisions. Furthermore, in uncontrolled areas, INVOLI’s real-time data enables UAS operators and managers to make those operational decisions, so deconfliction is ensured everywhere.
Strong international standards have always been central to safe and efficient aviation and both companies built their solutions with close attention to European Union Aviation Safety Agency U-space regulations, the UTM CONOPs of ICAO and JARUS, and ASTM standards ASTM F3411-22a, F3548-21 and F3623-23 (the latter co-led by INVOLI CEO Manu Lubrano). In addition, both are active members of the Global UTM Association (GUTMA), taking an active role in shaping international standards and strategies.
The two companies share deep operational experience too, with INVOLI providing the world’s first-ever Low Altitude Surveillance Supplemental Data Service to over 10,000 square kilometers of Dallas, Texas, and High Lander receiving the world’s first license to provide conformance monitoring nationwide. Both work closely with aviation authorities worldwide and are actively involved in national UTM projects in countries including Canada and Brazil.
“We are proud to partner with High Lander and integrate our airspace monitoring solution into the Vega Hub,” said Manu Lubrano, CEO of INVOLI. “Our solutions complement one another perfectly, combining powerful surveillance with next-generation airspace coordination and data synchronization. Together, we can offer to ANSPs and airspace authorities a unified solution covering all aspects of air traffic management at low altitudes, creating a world where UAS are safe, regulated, and easily available to all those who need them.”
