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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Collection: Capabilities and Experience

Two drones in flight.
(Akhararat Wathanasing/123RF photo)

This list of publications reflects the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s activities related to the topic of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), including our capabilities and experience. Learn more about the capabilities that the U.S. DOT Volpe Center brings to UAS integration in partnership with FAA, DOD, NASA, and others.

2022

Multi-Vehicle (m:N) Operations in the NAS – NASA’s Research Plans
NASA 
Vanessa V. Aubuchon, Kelley E. Hashemi, R. J. Shively, and Jacob M. Wishart

Noise Modeling Methods for Urban Air Mobility Vehicles in FAA’s Aviation Environmental Design Tool
NASA 
Nicholas Bradley, Sarasina Tuchen, and Eric Boeker

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Total Mobility Innovation Framework and Analysis Case Study: Boston Area Digital Twin and Economic Analysis
NASA
Sarasina Tuchen, Dawn LaFrance-Linden, Brian Hanley, et al

2021

Line-of-Sight Analysis Using Drones and Photogrammetry (Research Results)
FRA
Francesco Bedini Jacobini and William Baron

Software Scoping Document for Integration of Urban Air Mobility Vehicles into FAA’s Aviation Environmental Design Tool
NASA
Bradley Nicolas, Theodore Thrasher, and Sarasina Tuchen

2020

Blockchain for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Cover of a Volpe brochure on UAS: "Safe, efficient integration of unmanned aircraft into the national airspace is a shared responsibility."
U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT)
Seamus McGovern

Global Benchmarking Study on Unmanned Aerial Systems for Surface Transportation: Domestic Desk Review
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Stephanie Fischer, Jason Lu, Kirsten Van Fossen, and Emily Lawless 

Multimodal Transportation Operational Scenario and Conceptual Data Model for Integration with Urban Air Mobility 
NASA
Sarasina Tuchen 

Noise Measurement Report: Unconventional Aircraft - Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma; July 2019
FAA Office of Environment and Energy
David Read, David Senzig, Christopher Cutler, Eric Elmore, Hua He

Research to Support New Entrants to Public Airspace and Aircraft Noise Certification 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
David Read and Christopher Roof

Safety Assessment Process for UAS GBDAA 
U.S. Air Force
Jason Glaneuski and Dylan Hasson (U.S. DOT Volpe Center), Stephen J. Lloyd (Aviation Management Associates), and Chris A. Wargo (Mosaic ATM, Inc.) 

Use Cases for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in Public Transportation Systems 
Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Jacob Wishart, Tracy Lennertz, Dylan Hasson, and Max Litvack-Winkler

Visual Detection of Small Unmanned Aircraft System: Modeling the Limits of Human Pilots
Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems
Gregory Woo 

2019

Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle to Produce Accurate Grade Crossing Profile Data 
Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
William Baron and Marco daSilva

Trespasser Detection on Railroad Property Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 
FRA
William Baron and Marco daSilva

Advances in the Use of NAS Infrastructure and GBDAA for UAS Operations 
U.S. Air Force
Jason Glaneuski and Peter R. Kennett (U.S. DOT Volpe Center), Robert J. Stamm (Raytheon Company), and John M. Belanger (MITRE Corporation)

2018

Monitoring Risk Associated with Operations of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System: Models for Analysis of Mandatory Occurrence Reports involving UAS-Manned Aircraft Encounters 
FAA
Kim Cardosi, Jason Lu, Megan France, Tracy Lennertz, Aaron Hoffman, and Tom Sheridan

Pilots’ Estimation of Altitude of a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS)
FAA
Tracy Lennertz, Andrea L. Sparko, Kim Cardosi, Alan Yost, Andrew Kendra, Jason Lu, and Tom Sheridan

Quantitative Model to Support Automated Approval Processes of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations (2018)
FAA
Jason Lu

Role of Aviation in Seamless End-to-End Mobility
NASA
Sarasina Tuchen

Sound Exposure Level Duration Adjustments in UAS Rotorcraft Noise Certification Tests
FAA Office of Environment and Energy
David Senzig, Mehmet Marsan, Christopher Cutler, David Read

Ubiquitous Surveillance Notional Architecture for System-Wide DAA Capabilities in the NAS 
U.S. Air Force
Jason Glaneuski and Dylan Hasson (U.S. DOT Volpe Center); Chris A. Wargo, George Hunter, John DiFelici, and Pete Carros (Mosaic ATM, Inc.); Terry Blumer (Aviation Management Associates, Inc.); and Robert J. Kerczewski (NASA Glenn Research Center) 

Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) by State DOTs – February 27, 2018, Peer Exchange 
FHWA
Drew Quinton and Terrance Regan

2017

Human Factors Considerations for the Integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the National Airspace System: An Analysis of Reports Submitted to the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) 
FAA
Kim Cardosi and Tracy Lennertz

UAS Flight Test for Safety and for Efficiency
NASA
Seamus McGovern

UAS Noise Certification and Measurements Status Report: Tigershark UAS Measurements, Tracking System Development, and Certification Metrics Status
FAA
David Senzig, Mehmet Marsan, Robert S. Downs, et al

Visual Detection of Small Unmanned Aircraft: Modeling the Limits of Human Pilots 
Dissertations and Theses - Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Gregory Woo

2016

Small Unmanned Aircraft and the U.S. Forest Service: Benefits, Costs, and Recommendations for Using Small Unmanned Aircraft in Forest Service Operations
U.S. Forest Service
Alexandra Markiewicz and Logan Nash

Last updated: Wednesday, May 24, 2023