ICARUS · Project

Safe Drone Altitude System So Multiple Drones Share Low Airspace Without Colliding

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Imagine dozens of delivery drones buzzing around a city, each taking off from a different rooftop or parking lot. Today, there's no reliable shared ruler telling them all exactly how high they are above the ground — each one measures from its own launch point. ICARUS built a smart altitude service that gives every drone the same reference point, like a shared GPS-powered tape measure that also knows where buildings and hills are. It plugs directly into the European drone traffic management system so pilots and automated drones always know their real height above ground and obstacles.

By the numbers

consortium partners building and validating the system

countries represented in development consortium

67%

industry partner ratio in consortium

SMEs involved in development

technical deliverables produced

The business problem

What needed solving

Drones taking off from different locations each measure altitude from their own launch point, creating dangerous confusion when multiple drones share the same low-altitude airspace. Without a common altitude reference, drone traffic management systems cannot reliably separate aircraft vertically, which is a showstopper for scaling commercial drone operations in cities and beyond visual line of sight.

The solution

What was built

The team built a working service prototype that combines GNSS satellite positioning with digital terrain models to give every drone a shared altitude reference. The service works as an API — drones query it with their position and get back their real height above ground and distance from obstacles, designed to plug directly into U-space traffic management platforms. The project produced 20 deliverables covering the full technical specification and validation.

Audience

Who needs this

Drone delivery and logistics operators scaling to multi-drone fleetsU-space / UTM platform providers adding altitude deconflictionInfrastructure inspection companies flying BVLOS near structuresUrban air mobility startups designing air taxi corridorsNational aviation authorities implementing U-space regulations

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Drone logistics and delivery

any

Target: Drone delivery operators and urban air mobility companies

If you are a drone delivery company managing dozens of flights across a city — ICARUS developed an API-based altitude reference service that tells each drone its exact height above ground and obstacles. With 9 consortium partners validating this in real operations, the service plugs directly into U-space traffic management, reducing the risk of altitude-related incidents when your fleet shares airspace with other operators.

UTM / U-space service providers

mid-size

Target: Companies building drone traffic management platforms

If you are a U-space service provider trying to offer reliable deconfliction in very low level airspace — ICARUS built a tested prototype service that combines GNSS positioning with digital terrain models to deliver a common altitude reference. The service was designed as a U3-level add-on that integrates with existing tracking and flight planning services, giving your platform a critical safety layer with 20 deliverables worth of technical specifications.

Infrastructure inspection

SME

Target: Companies using drones for power line, pipeline, or building inspections

If you are an inspection company flying drones near structures where precise height matters — ICARUS created a terrain and obstacle awareness service that provides real-time distance-from-ground data via API. Built by a consortium with 67% industry partners including 4 SMEs, this technology helps your pilots maintain safe clearance during beyond-visual-line-of-sight operations near critical infrastructure.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to integrate this altitude service into our drone platform?

The project data does not include pricing or licensing fee details. ICARUS was developed as an API service, which typically means integration costs would involve development time to connect your flight management system to the service endpoint. Contact the consortium coordinator for commercial terms.

Can this scale to hundreds or thousands of simultaneous drone flights?

ICARUS was designed as an API-based service queried by individual drones along their trajectories in real time. The architecture supports the U-space U3 service level, which is intended for high-density drone operations. The consortium validated the prototype in a real operational environment, though specific load-testing numbers are not available in the project data.

Who owns the IP and can we license this technology?

The project was coordinated by E-GEOS SPA (Italy) with 9 partners across 4 countries. IP ownership would follow the consortium agreement terms. With 6 industry partners and 4 SMEs involved, there is likely a commercialization path — contact the coordinator for licensing discussions.

Does this meet current European drone regulations?

ICARUS was developed specifically within the SESAR research program and designed as a U-space U3 service, aligning with the European regulatory direction for drone traffic management. It addresses specific category BVLOS operations and shared VLL airspace with ultralight GA pilots, both key regulatory use cases.

How mature is this technology — is it ready for deployment?

The project produced an ICARUS service prototype as a demonstrated deliverable, and the objective states validation in a real operational environment. This puts it beyond lab testing but before full commercial deployment. Additional engineering and certification work would likely be needed for production use.

How does this integrate with existing drone flight systems?

ICARUS was designed to couple tightly with existing U-space services including tracking and flight planning. The service works via an API that drones or operators query using GNSS position data, receiving back altitude reference and obstacle distance information. This API approach means it can integrate with most modern flight management systems.

Consortium

Who built it

The ICARUS consortium is heavily industry-oriented with 6 out of 9 partners (67%) from industry, including 4 SMEs — a strong signal that commercialization was a priority from the start. Led by E-GEOS SPA, an Italian geospatial services company (not an SME), the consortium spans 4 countries (Belgium, Spain, Italy, Poland) and is backed by 2 universities and 1 research organization for scientific rigor. The SESAR research program context means this team was working within the official European air traffic management modernization effort, giving any resulting service a direct path into the regulated U-space ecosystem.

E-GEOS SPACoordinator · IT
TOPVIEW SRLparticipant · IT
TELESPAZIO SPAparticipant · IT
DRONERADAR SP Z O.O.participant · PL
EUROCONTROL - EUROPEAN ORGANISATION FOR THE SAFETY OF AIR NAVIGATIONparticipant · BE
EUROUSC ITALIA SRLthirdparty · IT
EUROUSC ESPANA SLparticipant · ES
POLITECNICO DI MILANOparticipant · IT
UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

E-GEOS SPA (Italy) — geospatial services company coordinating the consortium. Use SciTransfer matchmaking to get a direct introduction.

Order a report on this consortium See E-GEOS SPA profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to integrate a common altitude reference into your drone platform or U-space service? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the ICARUS team and help evaluate fit for your specific use case.

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