Towards Engineering Fair and Equitable Software Systems for Managing Low-Altitude Airspace Authorizations
This incremental work addresses fairness and transparency in automated airspace management for stakeholders like pilots and regulators, but does not propose a new method.
The study explored stakeholder perspectives on factors for an automated UAS Traffic Management system to address safety concerns in low-altitude airspace, finding that flight characteristics and environmental conditions were prioritized, but transparency and consideration of pilot capabilities are crucial due to aversion to AI automation.
Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) have gained widespread adoption across a diverse range of applications. This has introduced operational complexities within shared airspaces and an increase in reported incidents, raising safety concerns. In response, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is developing a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system to control access to airspace based on an sUAS's predicted ability to safely complete its mission. However, a fully automated system capable of swiftly approving or denying flight requests can be prone to bias and must consider safety, transparency, and fairness to diverse stakeholders. In this paper, we present an initial study that explores stakeholders' perspectives on factors that should be considered in an automated system. Results indicate flight characteristics and environmental conditions were perceived as most important but pilot and drone capabilities should also be considered. Further, several respondents indicated an aversion to any AI-supported automation, highlighting the need for full transparency in automated decision-making. Results provide a societal perspective on the challenges of automating UTM flight authorization decisions and help frame the ongoing design of a solution acceptable to the broader sUAS community.