PODIUM stands for Providing Operations of Drones with Initial UTM. It supports U-space, the European vision for the safe, secure and efficient handling of drone traffic and a key enabler for the growing drone market to generate economic and societal benefits. PODIUM will:
- Demonstrate U-space services, procedures and technologies at four operational sites at Odense in Denmark, Bretigny and Rodez in France, and Eelde in the Netherlands in late 2018 and the first half of 2019.
- Provide agreed conclusions on the maturity of U-space services and technologies – backed up by evidence on flight efficiency, safety, security and human performance metrics etc. – when used in a defined set of operational scenarios and environments.
- Provide recommendations on future deployment and for regulations and standards.
PODIUM is part of the SESAR 2020 (Single European Sky ATM Research) Research and Innovation (R&I) Programme. It will demonstrate unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) services, procedures and technologies at five operational sites in Denmark, France and the Netherlands throughout 2018 and 2019.