NASA Brings AT&T on Board as Partner in UTM Platform Research
NASA will welcome a new partner in its effort to create a UAS Traffic Management (UTM) system, as AT&T will now support NASA’s efforts in research and development of this platform.
This announcement comes just weeks after NASA completed testing for the second phase of the UTM Technology Capability Level Two activity.
To support NASA and its efforts to create a platform aimed at integrating UAS into the national airspace safely and effectively, AT&T will bring its expertise in networking, internet of things, cloud, identity management and cybersecurity to the table.
As an expert in cybersecurity, AT&T will take special interest in looking into cybersecurity threats, and how to mitigate those threats by applying protective applications to the system from the onset.
“Working with NASA and others, we are designing the management system for a new frontier in aviation,” said Mike Leff, vice president, civilian, AT&T Global Public Sector Solutions. “Drones are already used in agriculture, public safety, construction, utilities, real estate and TV. This research can help support the commercial and private use of drones nationwide.”
This won’t be AT&T’s first trip into the world of unmanned systems, as the company currently uses UAS to conduct inspections of cell towers and measure network performance at venues and locations throughout the United States.
