British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia

In this webinar, the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)’s Innovation Hub will provide overviews on:

• The UK’s regulatory environment around commercial aviation, with a short overview of a post-Brexit, post-EASA landscape;
• Current trends & forecasts around the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) / Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) markets in the UK; and
• The Innovation Hub’s work and ongoing projects (such as their Regulatory Sandbox and innovation clusters).

Boeing NeXt will also discuss some of their work with the Innovation Hub, such as enabling beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations as part of the CAA’s Innovation Sandbox, which is intended to help foster collaboration between industry and regulators to shape future regulation of the aviation and travel industries in the UK. The presentation shared will introduce Boeing’s vision for the future mobility ecosystem, and their global and collaborative approach to testing innovative aviation solutions in a safe environment under real-world conditions.

This event is intended to give you an idea of present and future opportunities for your company, as well as UK innovation trends to take note of, and how they are being regulated for success in an ever-evolving global aerospace industry.

About the CAA’s Innovation Hub

In 2019, the CAA established the Innovation Hub with the aim to create an environment where innovation in aviation can be explored and flourish, in line with core CAA principles. By looking into areas such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Urban Air Mobility, alternative forms of propulsion and BVLOS operations, the Hub is here to make the trialling of such technologies a reality and help shape the regulations of the future. One of the main functions of the Hub is also to simplify the way innovators engage and work with the CAA, guiding them through the regulatory landscape of aviation.

Alex Georgiades, Autonomous Systems Specialist, CAA

Alex has been working at the CAA since early 2019 as the Autonomous Systems Specialist of the organisation and the Innovation Hub. He is primarily responsible for providing technical expertise on matters such as AI and Autonomous Systems. Furthermore, he collaborates with innovators to safely trial novel solutions aimed at modernising the aviation and aerospace industries, with a particular emphasis on autonomous systems and BVLOS drone operations. Alex has previously worked as a researcher in simulation projects for Airbus, and as a postdoctoral research associate for the University of Bristol in aerial robotics. He obtained his PhD in Optimization of Aircraft Systems from Cranfield University.

Sonya White, Innovation Services Principal, CAA

Sonya has been working at the CAA for eight years, with a background in Intelligence, Offshore and Emergency Helicopters, Airworthiness, and Commercial Spaceflight Regulation. Her current role is within the Innovation Hub as the Innovation Services Principal. Her main responsibilities include working with industry to trial innovative aviation concepts in the UK, managing the CAA’s response to COVID-19 related projects, developing risk models, and providing regulatory advice to innovators. Sonya has a Bachelor’s degree in Physics (with a particular focus on astrophysics, computer programming, and mathematics), and is currently pursuing a Data Science degree part time.

About Boeing NeXt

Boeing and the CAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding as part of the CAA’s Innovation Sandbox. The aim of the collaboration is to advance both industry and regulators understanding of the requirements for the safe operation of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in UK airspace. The regulatory learnings are intended to be shared, and in doing so, Boeing, as a safety leader, hopes to take substantive steps toward enabling the safe and routine use of UAS around the globe. Boeing foresees beneficial applications, such as deep sea search and rescue, precision farming, delivery of freight, or the inspection of road, power, and oil and gas infrastructure.

Mildred Troegeler, Director of Global Airspace Integration, Boeing NeXt

Mildred is the director of Global Airspace Integration for Boeing NeXt, a business division building the ecosystem that will define the future of urban, regional, and global mobility. She leads the airspace integration regulatory strategy across the company, working with regulators around the world to support and enable the safe integration of autonomous systems into national airspace with a continued focus on safety. In 2015, Mildred joined Boeing as the Director of Technical & Regulatory Affairs in Europe. In this role, she was responsible for representing Boeing’s interests with all European institutions, most notably the European Commission, European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Parliament, in the areas of aviation safety, cybersecurity and unmanned aircraft systems. Previously, she served as Technical and Operations General Manager at the Association of European Airlines (AEA) and she shaped space policies at the United Nations as a legal and policy advisor to the German Aerospace Center. Mildred holds a law degree with a specialization in economics and competition law from the University of Bonn, and a postgraduate Master of Laws in air and space law from the University of Leiden. She is a board member on the NATO Maritime Unmanned Systems Innovation Advisory Board and for the Royal Aeronautical Society Brussels Branch.