Keeping the Main Thing the Main Thing: A Lesson from LeBron James
By AURA CEO Bill Tolpegin
As the 2024 Paris Olympics commenced, many Team USA members found inspiration in LeBron James’ straightforward self-stated key to success: “Keep the main thing the main thing.” For him, this means dedicating himself to the hard work necessary to excel in basketball: “I never lost track of that and, once that thing is taken care of, then the sky is the limit.”
LeBron’s disciplined approach offers valuable insights for our industry as we continue to collectively put in the hard work to bring autonomous flight to civil aviation – sooner rather than later. At AURA, our primary focus has always been the development of a comprehensive suite of aviation infrastructure solutions to enable advanced levels of autonomy and safety in the National Airspace System. So, along with Team AURA’s hard work, what is our main thing?
It’s actually spectrum – the radio frequencies authorized and assigned by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for the provision of command-and-control (C2) communications for uncrewed aircraft operations. In the regulatory decision regarding our 450 MHz-band, as well as in its ongoing proceeding to unleash spectrum in the 5030-5091 MHz C-band, the FCC is to be commended for its pivotal efforts to enable C2 operations for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS).
From our C2 Link System using aviation-dedicated spectrum to our proprietary frequency management system, we are meticulously designing a network to help operators achieve Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) compliance. This also boosts the commercial viability of pioneering aircraft like electric air taxis and highly automated cargo aircraft.
Demonstrating Why Spectrum is Really Important
Sufficient spectrum availability is a necessity for unlocking the transformative potential of Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). It is essential that the spectrum used by aviation to support flights is not only licensed and fully dedicated for aviation but also managed to ensure coverage along flight routes. It’s also important to note that licensed spectrum is necessary for enabling longer range, safety-reliant beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) connections between aircraft and ground stations.
Since public confidence is so crucial to the success of AAM, manufacturers of autonomous aircraft are rightly focused on safety, as both the flying public and the FAA demand reliable and safe operations. This is why we and our industry colleagues are intricately involved in rigorous testing designed to meet uncompromising safety standards.
Allow me to share a recent example where we were able to showcase not only why C2 links are critical to uncrewed aircraft operations but also why utilizing FCC-licensed spectrum – specifically authorized for those purposes – is such a vital component in the journey to obtaining regulatory approvals.
In collaboration with the autonomy team of an industry-leading manufacturer, we successfully conducted a flight test using our network as the primary radio link for C2, telemetry data, and Air Traffic Control (ATC) voice relay. AURA’s link demonstrated exceptional quality and reliability.
Data latency – a crucial factor in delivering a stable and responsive connection – was so minimal that it was deemed imperceptible for standard commands. This allowed us to effectively control the aircraft both on the ground during taxiing and in the air, ensuring seamless communication between the remote pilot and ground and tower personnel.
In addition to validating the performance of our 450 MHz-based communications system, we demonstrated that – by utilizing AURA’s link via our licensed frequencies – the test aircraft was able to fly much farther. This capability translates into significant near- and long-term benefits, particularly as manufacturers are likely to conduct limited deployments for testing at sporadic locations rather than established routes. Enabling farther travel reduces the need for extensive infrastructure and ultimately lowers risks by minimizing the number of handovers required.
Ultimately, it’s all about safety – the FAA’s North Star, and ours as well. The lifeblood of our network is its use of aviation-designated spectrum, which serves as the catalyst for full-stack communications platforms. These platforms are custom built to support sophisticated, safety-of-life reliant, and aviation-compliant UAS operations.
By keeping our main thing the main thing, we continue to pave the way for the future of autonomous flight, ensuring safety, reliability, and public trust every step of the way.