GENIUS project

Enabling drones to fly side by side with manned aviation through the 5G network

GENIUS project

5G Enabled Communication Infrastructure for Unmanned Aerial Systems (GENIUS)

As soon as the first Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) or drones became market-ready, countless useful and financially attractive use cases were spotted.

While the technology evolved and became continuously more impressive, reliable, and mature, legislation evolved – for good reasons – and regulated the use of drones. This limited the economic opportunities within the drone industry. With the 2021/664 Regulation, the EU Commission introduced rules for the U-Space.

These rules allow national states to define geographic areas in which UAS only can be operated in combination with IT systems that communicate information amongst agents in the airspace and between aircraft & centralized systems on the ground. The new legislation framework requires fundamental changes in drone operations, but it will increase UAS operations safety and let unmanned and manned aircraft fly side by side. It is also an opportunity for private organizations to offer new types of drone services.

About the project

The aim of GENIUS

In the GENIUS project, Lorenz Technology and a consortium of partners conceptualize and implement U-Space in Denmark. More specifically, the partners develop and test a 5G enabled U-Space, in which drones fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) autonomously.

Project objectives

Establish 5G UAS Network at the UAS Denmark Test Center at HCA Airport in Odense
Develop NAV U-space services utilizing the 5G UAS network for safe airspace integration of drones
Develop UAS technology required for 5G UAS network and U-space integration. Perform BVLOS flights in non-segregated airspace
Evaluate and test use cases for drone-based monitoring of ports, airports, and natural environments

Lorenz Technology's role

Our contributions

Lorenz Technology’s contributions to the project are threefold.

First, Lorenz Technology will develop hardware and software to connect drones to and control via the 5G network. The developed technology will also enable drones to communicate with U-Space services such as a centrally managed UTM system.

Second, Lorenz Technology will assess various BVLOS use cases to monitor ports and airports.

Third, based on the technological advancements and clear use case understanding, Lorenz Technology will conduct 5G BVLOS flights for selected use cases.

GENIUS is a three-year Grand Solutions research project funded by Innovation Fund Denmark (Innovationsfonden). The partner consortium consists of the Danish Technical University, Ericsson, MECK Consult, Naviair, Science Venture Denmark, TDC, University of Southern Denmark.

The Project is supported by the Innovation Fund Denmark