PX4 Developer Summit | Virtual 2020

James will present on the dramatic changes occurring in the drone software landscape as the commercial drone industry moves towards Beyond Line of Sight operations and begins to adopt safety and design standards. Specifically, James will address the recent ASTM Standard Specification for Detect and Avoid Performance Requirements* and Software Dependability requirements which governs the performance and functional characteristics of drone operations equipped with autonomous detect and avoid, critical for enabling the expansion of drone operations to the Beyond Line of Sight realm.

In the presentation James will cover detailed examples of the changes needed in different parts of the PX4 drone software ecosystem (specifically QGroundControl and PX4 Autopilot Firmware) related to some of the ASTM standard requirements and begin a conversation around how the PX4 community and the wider open source drone software community can begin to adopt these standards in its continued development and improvement.

* ASTM WK62668 (https://www.astm.org/DATABASE.CART/WORKITEMS/WK62668.htm) is anticipated to publish in June 2020 a definition for the minimum performance standards for DAA systems applicable to smaller UAS BLVOS operations for the protection of manned aircraft in lower altitude airspace.