PHYDIAS (Physics – Drone Innovations for new Applications and increased Safety) is a research project supported by the French CAA (DGAC) with the aim to promote a drone safety culture and to develop methods and tools to insure safety and acceptability of unmanned systems. The research effort is focused on the analysis of operational, technical and human risks in order to support the design of drone systems, the preparation of their missions or incident investigations, in compliance with the European regulation and with connections to French and international working groups.
Fast dissemination of the research results to the drone ecosystem is ensured through seminars, technical publications as well as the direct application of the most mature methods and tools to specific cases submitted by drone manufacturers or operators. In addition, a reference case consists in a delivery operation with the ONERA FAZER drone.
The first phase of PHYDIAS (PHYDIAS 1) was achieved in 2021 and the second phase (PHYDIAS 2) was initiated in 2022.