Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation
With the significant potential of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs) extending throughout various fields and industries, their proliferation raises concerns regarding potential risks within the national airspace system (NAS). To enhance the safe and efficient integration of UAVs into airport environm...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Aerospace |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/4/284 |
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| author | Prasad Pothana Paul Snyder Sreejith Vidhyadharan Michael Ullrich Jack Thornby |
| author_facet | Prasad Pothana Paul Snyder Sreejith Vidhyadharan Michael Ullrich Jack Thornby |
| author_sort | Prasad Pothana |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the significant potential of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs) extending throughout various fields and industries, their proliferation raises concerns regarding potential risks within the national airspace system (NAS). To enhance the safe and efficient integration of UAVs into airport environments, this paper presents an analysis of temporal statistical patterns in flight traffic, the predictive modeling of future traffic trends using machine learning, and the identification of optimal time windows for UAV operations within airports. The framework was developed using historical Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data obtained from the OpenSky Network. Historical flight data from Class B, C, and D airports in California are processed, and statistical analysis is carried out to identify temporal variations in flight traffic, including daily, weekly, and seasonal trends. A recurrent neural network (RNN) model incorporating Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) architecture is developed to forecast future flight counts based on historical patterns, achieving mean absolute error (MAE) values of 4.52, 2.13, and 0.87 for Class B, C, and D airports, respectively. The statistical analysis findings highlight distinct traffic patterns across airport classes, emphasizing the practicality of utilizing ADS-B data for UAV flight scheduling to minimize conflicts with manned aircraft. Additionally, the study explores the influence of external factors, including weather conditions and dataset limitations on prediction accuracy. By integrating machine learning with real-time ADS-B data, this research provides a framework for optimizing UAV operations, supporting airspace management and improving regulatory compliance for safe UAV integration into controlled airspace. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8d5234fe856e4a30ad2fc862064f3e7f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2226-4310 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Aerospace |
| spelling | doaj-art-8d5234fe856e4a30ad2fc862064f3e7f2025-08-20T03:14:23ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-03-0112428410.3390/aerospace12040284Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk MitigationPrasad Pothana0Paul Snyder1Sreejith Vidhyadharan2Michael Ullrich3Jack Thornby4Department of Aviation, John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USADepartment of Aviation, John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USADepartment of Aviation, John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USADepartment of Aviation, John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USADepartment of Aviation, John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND 58202, USAWith the significant potential of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAVs) extending throughout various fields and industries, their proliferation raises concerns regarding potential risks within the national airspace system (NAS). To enhance the safe and efficient integration of UAVs into airport environments, this paper presents an analysis of temporal statistical patterns in flight traffic, the predictive modeling of future traffic trends using machine learning, and the identification of optimal time windows for UAV operations within airports. The framework was developed using historical Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) data obtained from the OpenSky Network. Historical flight data from Class B, C, and D airports in California are processed, and statistical analysis is carried out to identify temporal variations in flight traffic, including daily, weekly, and seasonal trends. A recurrent neural network (RNN) model incorporating Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) architecture is developed to forecast future flight counts based on historical patterns, achieving mean absolute error (MAE) values of 4.52, 2.13, and 0.87 for Class B, C, and D airports, respectively. The statistical analysis findings highlight distinct traffic patterns across airport classes, emphasizing the practicality of utilizing ADS-B data for UAV flight scheduling to minimize conflicts with manned aircraft. Additionally, the study explores the influence of external factors, including weather conditions and dataset limitations on prediction accuracy. By integrating machine learning with real-time ADS-B data, this research provides a framework for optimizing UAV operations, supporting airspace management and improving regulatory compliance for safe UAV integration into controlled airspace.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/4/284unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV)Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B)recurrent neural network (RNN)flight traffic predictionmachine learningrisk mitigation |
| spellingShingle | Prasad Pothana Paul Snyder Sreejith Vidhyadharan Michael Ullrich Jack Thornby Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation Aerospace unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) recurrent neural network (RNN) flight traffic prediction machine learning risk mitigation |
| title | Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation |
| title_full | Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation |
| title_fullStr | Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation |
| title_short | Air Traffic Trends and UAV Safety: Leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast Data for Predictive Risk Mitigation |
| title_sort | air traffic trends and uav safety leveraging automatic dependent surveillance broadcast data for predictive risk mitigation |
| topic | unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV) Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) recurrent neural network (RNN) flight traffic prediction machine learning risk mitigation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/4/284 |
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