ISSEC y CANARIAS STRATOPORT FOR HAPS & UAS
Address: Fuerteventura | Islas Canarias
Contact: Sergio Díaz (sdiaz@ptfue.com )
Who we are
ISSEC (International Smart Center for Security, Emergencies, Biodiversity, and Other Public Service Missions) and CANARIAS STRATOPORT FOR HAPS & UAS are two spaces for research, development, innovation, simulation, data processing, mission tracking and analysis, technology validation and certification, etc.
Both ISSEC and the CANARIAS STRATOPORT FOR HAPS & UAS are part of the actions of the CANARIAS GEO INNOVATION PROGRAM 2030, an innovation program that seeks to carry out innovative and sustainable developments derived from earth observation through aeronautical and aerospace technologies.
On the one hand, CANARIAS STRATOPORT FOR HAPS & UAS is Europe’s first airport. This is a public infrastructure managed by the Fuerteventura Technology Park (PTFSA), designed for the integration, operation, maintenance, and development of products and services based on unmanned aerial platforms (pseudo-satellites or HAPS and conventional UAS) as well as for the associated training and instruction processes for operators and maintenance personnel.
In addition, ISSEC is an international center for public service missions related to biodiversity, security and emergencies, among others. This operations control center has different components:
- Geo Information Center or GIC. Data reception and processing center.
- Portal Open Data. Open data portal for innovative solutions
- Laboratory of ideas for R&D&I projects.
- Geo Training Center. Training and instruction center
Main lines of research
The R&D activities that PTFSA is implementing related to the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS and ISSEC are part of a broader program called CANARIAS Geo Innovation Program 2030. The main ones are as follows:
- Promotion of aeronautical and aerospace R&D and new technologies related to air navigation services.
- Airspace integration of UAS (Unmanned Aerial Systems) and HAPS (High Altitude Pseudosatellites Platforms) vehicles and platforms.
- Development and deployment of U-space services in Spain
- Development of the operational concepts U-space and Urban Air Mobility (UAM), for its future implementation and deployment of services in the Canary Islands and national territory.
- 5G communications application for TTC of UAS and HAPS
- U-space integration of UAS and HAPS
- Data processing systems based on AI and Big Data techniques.
- Stratospheric balloon launching campaigns
- HAPS operational trials
- Implementation of flight procedures based on the PBN concept to improve accessibility to the new vertiports defined within the framework of the current collaboration, thereby promoting new modes of operation and improving the integration of UAVs and HASPs in the airspace.
- Avionics research on on-board CNS systems for the improvement of aircraft services.
- Promoting and supporting the Canarias Geo Innovation Program 2030, as well as the development of deployment projects.
- Tests, trials, or demonstrations aimed at verifying the performance of CNS (Communication, Navigation, and Surveillance) solutions.
- Improving the performance of ground-based CNS services for air traffic control, relying on existing infrastructure in the archipelago.
- Tests for the detection and localization of interference in satellite navigation signals (GNSS), using detectors based on HAPS and/or UAS platforms (such as, among others, ENAIRE’s innovation project called GIDAL-HAPS/DRON or European collaboration projects such as EuroHAPS), taking advantage of the capabilities available at the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS (& UAS) and ENAIRE’s experience and ground equipment in the field of interference in GNSS systems.
- Improve the performance of the European SBAS augmentation system, EGNOS, both in the Canary Islands and in southern Europe through the potential deployment of new RIMS stations.
- Activities to evaluate the performance of GBAS systems for precision approaches in low visibility conditions (currently a prototype in Tenerife North for research purposes) in complex ionosphere environments, as well as research work for the development of GBAS systems based on Galileo signals. Introduction of the Galileo signal to improve the performance of GBAS systems in the Canary Islands.
- Studies and analysis of the performance and signal interference of GNSS systems based on the receiver network with multi-constellation / multi-frequency capability (RECNET).
- Definition and development of a regulatory sandbox in aeronautical and aerospace matters in the Canary Islands, preferably in the Canary Islands Stratoport for HAPS area.
Main R&D&I projects
The main R&D projects being developed by PTFSA in the framework of the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS and ISSEC are the following:
- U-ELCOME Project(U-ELCOME | EUROCONTROL)
EU-funded multinational project to accelerate the incorporation of U-space U1 and U2 services in the market, through a set of tests and demonstrations in several European sites and locations, the development and implementation of different flight spaces for unmanned aerial systems. The Canary Islands through PTFSA is one such site.
- Advanced 5G system implementation project
The project considers the installation of 5G stations in the airport environment so that its users can carry out evaluation tests of the technology to use it for communication (TTC) with HAPS and UAS systems.
- Hospital logistics project
Supported by a network of 5G stations, the project proposes the testing and implementation of a system that allows the transport of clinical samples (analysis, medicines, etc.) between different health centers on the island of Fuerteventura and the central hospital using UAS.
- Intelligent Data Processing Project (ISSEC)
Development of algorithm suitable for processing with Big data and AI techniques of data collected in different UAS and HAPS missions in the field of biodiversity.
- HAPS system implementation project
Integration of different HAPS systems (aerostats, aerodynes) in the Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS facilities.
- Campaigns stratospheric balloon tests
Deployment from Canarias Stratoport for HAPS & UAS of stratospheric balloon campaigns for different clients.
Services offered
- UAS Operations
- HAPS Operations
- Stratospheric balloon campaigns
- Hangar rental for HAPS and UAS deployment
- 5G communications system
- TAS zone activation