DroneOps VR - Virtual Reality Training for Drone Hazard Awareness and Flight Planning

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Over 920,000 drones are expected to be in use in the UK by 2030 across a range of sectors, contributing $45b to the UK economy, 1.6% of GDP. To fly drones pilots must have formal permission - effectively a licence - to ensure they comply with safety and regulatory requirements. There are currently over 20,000 drone CAA approved pilots in the UK and more 200,000 FAA approved pilots in the USA, numbers forecast to double by 2023\.As drone technology moves from manual control within visual line of sight (VLOS) to autonomous devices beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), operational and regulatory focus will move from flight control to flight planning and management. Risk must be minimised and pilots will require comprehensive hazard awareness and flight management training for increasingly cluttered environments.Currently training programmes are instructor-led, scheduled and delivered face-to-face. They don't take advantage of pilot downtime (e.g. during adverse weather) and may be inaccessible for people with mobility limitations. Engagement and knowledge retention from online courses is poor because they lack practical, hands-on, experiential elements.We will develop DroneOps VR, a first-of-a-kind immersive training programme to teach pilots effective hazard assessment, flight planning and flight management skills. It is centred on a series of highly realistic, simulated environments, each with various hazards embedded. A range of scenarios will be developed to replicate likely drone use cases, including dynamic elements such as weather and clutter (e.g people, animals, vehicles).The simulation will be wrapped in a training programme using videos, assessments and instructor-led briefing sessions to enhance learning. Content will be developed closely with stakeholders during the project to inform requirements, provide feedback and for early end-user engagement. Material will be developed to enhance training quality, accessibility and efficiency.