Safer Skies Ahead with Partners TruWeather Solutions and Avision
September 17, 2024 | Akshata –
In the world of drones and uncrewed systems, “Protectors & Defenders” include both individuals and the technologies that ensure safe and reliable operations. In a recent episode of the Dawn of Autonomy podcast, Don Berchoff, CEO of TruWeather Solutions (TWS) and Stas Mozolyuk, Founder and CEO of Avision, discussed how their partnership and technologies contribute to safety and scalability across the global airspace commons.
Before founding Avision, Mozolyuk led technology teams at major corporations such as General Electric (GE) and Sony, which gave him the expertise in service-oriented architecture that led to creation of the company. Berchoff, whose passion for weather began at a young age, has over 40 years of experience which includes a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force where he ran an Air Force base and built regional weather centers. (if you want to learn more about him in depth check out his Full TILT episode). Read on to learn how these two industry icons have partnered to leverage weather intelligence and unmanned traffic management (UTM), to help protect and defend the drone and advanced air mobility (AAM) industries.
Different Origins, One Goal
Mozolyuk founded Avision in 2015 with a focus to create an eco-friendly platform for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) and air traffic management (ATM). Within its first year, the company partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop a working ATM system prototype.
Avision’s other early achievements included demonstration of a beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operation to a logistics company using a web interface and 3D robotics drones equipped with onboard computers and long-term evolution (LTE) modules.
These innovations laid the foundation for Avision’s current UTM platform, which supports both lower altitude UAS operations and AAM projects, in collaboration with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). “It was a combination of partnerships and experiments that led us to where we are today,” Mozolyuk explained.
Berchoff’s pointed to his experience as the Science and Technology (S&T) Director at the National Weather Service (NWS) as the inspiration for launching TWS in 2015. During his stint as NWS S&T lead, he often observed that important S&T continually remained confined to labs and universities and rarely made it into commercial or governmental applications. “Despite managing a $130 million budget, modern technology was scarce for us,” he explained.
By 2017, as Berchoff began recognizing the growing importance of drones, he shifted his company’s focus to providing leading edge micro-weather solutions. “I knew that weather would be a major challenge for drones as they began flying at scale and on tight schedules,” he said.
Now, TWS operates a robust platform, V360, which integrates models from various global sources with novel sensors to provide precise weather parameters for specific conditions. Unlike other weather companies that simply downscale models, TWS aims to solve operational problems tied to a lack of accurate weather data for industry in low-altitude weather by using real data. TWS aims to increase flight time and reduce uncertainty by tackling the high attrition rates (roughly 40-50%) in drone operations due to weather-related issues.
These two different companies, both founded in 2015, have evolved their approaches and models, and joined forces in collaboration. Don and Stas met in 2018 at an event while working to establish their companies. Their shared experiences of launching new companies in a nascent industry and shared desire to provide safety and reliability for airspace users have forged this strong connection.
Geo-Awareness
Avision’s platform provides UTM services for small UAS operations under 400 ft, with FAA-integrated services like “Before You Fly” and Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) for airspace authorization in controlled environments. It also fully integrates with Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP) systems to seamlessly connect regulators and pilots and provide them “geo awareness,” or airspace awareness, to see all static and dynamic constraints.
According to Mozolyuk, his company’s platform offers features that are “built for awareness,” such as traffic information, weather services, along with strategic deconfliction crucial for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations and flight safety. In the system, traffic Information services, which incorporate dynamic airspace reconfiguration which is responsive to changing conditions, provide operators with a view of both crewed and uncrewed operations nearby. For operators that submit UTM authorization, their drone operations are registered and visible on the platform. Traffic information services compliment this to further enhance situational awareness.
Since 2020, Avision has focused on enabling these capabilities through various projects. These initiatives have involved multiple research and development (R&D) partnerships with NASA and the FAA’s NextGen office, including in the AAM space. “This is an exciting time for AAM, which is more complex than small UAS due to the need to account for various factors”, Mozolyuk noted.
Weather Intelligence
Weather data remains crucial for insights into the conditions of the flight and the weather around the operators. TWS consolidates different weather sources to provide accurate micro weather data which is critical especially in low-altitude flight operations.
TWS aims to create an end-to-end weather solution, and “not just tweak existing data with machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI),” according to Berchoff. In his estimation, it remains essential that weather solutions are purpose-built for specific industries. “A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work,” he said. For example, currently, there is a significant need for more wind data above the ground, as winds at the surface often do not reflect conditions higher up.
Berchoff’s experience managing Manas Air Base in Central Asia from 2007 to 2008 informs his current thinking. Recognizing that weather could give the enemy a tactical advantage, he often questioned visibility assessments, such as on foggy nights, and helped commanders to adapt tactics based on weather conditions. “It was – and still is – about anticipating and exploiting, rather than coping and avoiding,” he explained.
Protecting Those Who Protect
Today, unpredictable weather complicates efforts for first responders in chaotic situations. It can affect mission effectiveness and raise the risk of mistakes.
Berchoff created tools like V360 to help avoid such mistakes and improve readiness, as opposed to merely coping with weather conditions as they arise. (See this article to learn more about V360).
Public safety has also always been central to Avision’s development. From the early days, the company’s focus has been to address various use cases which require airspace authorization and strategic deconfliction to prevent interference. This is vital in emergencies where multiple teams and drones operate in the same area. For example, during a wildfire, both crewed and uncrewed operations need to be coordinated to avoid conflicts.
In 2019, Avision showcased UTM technologies in Texas and Nevada, which included partnerships with FAA test sites and local fire departments to support urban flight operations. It also worked on the Scalable Traffic Management for Emergency Response Operations (STEReO) project with NASA for wildfire management. More recently, the company has supported public safety agencies in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Mozolyuk explained, “Initially, the UTM system was designed to be interoperable – first come, first served.” Now, it allows different UTM providers to communicate and deconflict operations in real time. Avision’s system can coordinate with delivery services and public safety operations to manage airspace effectively. Avision also offers a horizontal solution that supports multiple UTM Service Suppliers (USS) and facilitates international and country-level integration through frameworks like the Common Information Services (CIS), which scale UTM operations and integrate with ANSPs.
For its part, TWS also continues filling gaps for our protectors. BVLOS operations will present new challenges and the FAA will require weather information to be assured, reliable and secure. Traditional sources, such as weather balloons and aircraft data, remain limited and infrequent. Weather models try to fill these gaps, but do so with high error rates due to insufficient data. Berchoff noted, “97% of the country or any land mass in the world does not get real weather measurements below 5,000 feet.” To improve this, TWS collaborates with small companies and labs to develop next-generation technologies. They are testing these technologies at NASA-funded test beds in Dallas-Fort Worth, Virginia, California and in North Dakota.
Advanced Air Mobility Integration
By providing a scalable, service-oriented architecture, Avision’s role in AAM is similar to its function in UTM. AAM introduces additional complexity. Mozolyuk explained that for AAM, strategic deconfliction involves not only managing airspace, but also accounting for ground-based infrastructure and vertiports. Similarly, communication is more complex as it includes interactions between air taxis, general aviation and air traffic controllers (ATC). Avision’s goal is to develop advanced capabilities through ongoing R&D and flight demonstrations, which will eventually lead to deploying its automated systems in operational environments.
Berchoff explained how TWS supports companies involved in AAM by working with the FAA key sites in Dallas and with operators such as DroneUp to operationally demonstrate new weather standards. “TWS is committed to using our sensors and systems to meet the forthcoming standards outlined in Part 108 and the weather-focused advisory circular,” he said. “This approach will let you make decisions right at your location instead of relying on distant meteorological aerodrome report (METAR) data.” Berchoff predicts this will help organizations get 30% more flight time because they won’t be canceling missions as often.
Tap Into This Talent
Everyone can benefit from the systems and services these two companies offer. Doing so is often as easy as clicking a button.
For Avision, users can download their app from the App Store or Google Play, or register on their website here. The company’s basic services, including airspace awareness and LAANC authorization, are free for recreational flyers.
For more complex use cases like BVLOS operations, Avision supports mobility and public safety agencies with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) compliant UTM services. Its UTM is also aligned with the upcoming Part 108 regulation for U.S. BVLOS operations and adheres to European regulations. The company continues working with the Swiss government to establish UTM systems there, and remains open to collaborating with other agencies, countries and public safety entities for complex operations and UTM system development at a country level. Learn more here.
Berchoff summed up TWS offerings. “If you work with us, we’ll make sure that you are compliant and that you’re going to get more flight time.” He added, “We have the safest weather aviation system in the world so we’re working to make sure compliance is number one.” Users can contact Berchoff and his team through the company’s website’s contact form or by emailing don.berchoff@trueweathersolutions.com.
Learn more from Don Berchoff & Stas Mozolyuk on the 2024 Dawn of Autonomy podcast.
