What the filing covers
Four-dimensional protected corridors that follow specific crewed aircraft along approach and departure procedures, with cryptographically signed deconfliction commands issued to cooperative unmanned aircraft. I filed this because a crewed aircraft's path changes with time. A fixed boundary captures a place, while a protected corridor can follow a particular aircraft through approach or departure. Four-dimensional corridors include time alongside position. Cryptographically signed deconfliction commands connect that moving protection with cooperative unmanned aircraft.
Why it matters now
An aircraft approach is a movement through space over time. Nearby drone activity has to be considered in relation to that movement. A fixed boundary alone cannot describe where a particular aircraft is along its path at each moment. Timing and position both matter when coordinating cooperative aircraft.
A real-world example
Imagine a crewed aircraft approaching an airport while a cooperative drone is operating nearby. As the aircraft progresses, the relevant protected space follows its approach. The drone's activity has to be considered against that changing corridor. A command intended to keep the aircraft apart belongs to that same time-and-position problem.
I connect the corridor to the specific crewed aircraft rather than treat every moment of an approach as the same location. The aircraft continues moving while coordination takes place. A useful view of the conflict therefore needs to include when the aircraft will occupy the relevant space as well as where that space is.
Consider departure in the same way. The protected corridor follows the particular aircraft along its departure procedure. Cooperative unmanned aircraft receive signed commands for deconfliction. The participating drone and the moving crewed aircraft are the two sides of that coordination.
Where it applies
This work applies to airport operations, crewed aviation and cooperative drone operations. I focus on approaches and departures because they involve aircraft following procedures through changing positions. The corridor and the command address related parts of keeping cooperative aircraft apart.
For an operator assessing this problem, I would separate the protected area from the instruction sent to the drone. The corridor defines the moving space being protected. The signed command carries the deconfliction instruction to a cooperative participant.
Detecting a drone, assessing its threat and communicating with pilots raise additional questions. My related filings address those functions separately. This filing concentrates on the corridor that follows the crewed aircraft and the cooperative commands associated with it.
Status
U.S. provisional patent application, filed April 30, 2026; Status: Patent Pending; Sole inventor: Ross D. Blankenship.
Provisional applications establish a priority date; they are not examined.