Section: 5.5.2 Scenario
Content: A UAS is operating a mission in San Diego to transport blood for transplant surgery between 2 hospitals. The UAVs are flow under waypoint guidance and operate with a high degree of automation in normal operating modes. Because of the geography of San Diego, much of the route is planned to fly over canyons due to the direct route and the lower population density providing a lower risk factor. The canyons often have poor radio coverage due to physical distance from, and obstruction of, the nearest radio towers. These canyons also act as “highways” for UAVs due to the geography and risk factors. Therefore, UAV density is often quite high. Also, to take into account is the requirement to route around the U.S. Marine Corps base at Miramar which also provides a concentration of UAVs at the boundary of the no-fly zone. In this scenario a faster moving drone is approaching behind the subject of this use case. As there is limited radio coverage, both UAVs are in an automated mode of operation and there is no connection to a UTM to provide a separation service. They require distributed intelligence to maintain separation or else a collision will occur. Both UAVs are fitted with 3GPP ProSe-enabled communication modules and discover each other at a safe distance. They negotiate a separation method (typically they separate in the vertical plane) and execute route modifications to adapt to the presence of the other. This procedure also takes into account the presence of other UAVs in the area. The UAVs pass each other safely and resume their previously planned route.