Declarative Problem Solving in UAM Strategic Deconfliction

2026-07-23

AI Summary

This study addresses route conflicts and safety risks in urban air mobility (UAM) operations within high-density airspace caused by dense aircraft traffic. To this end, the authors propose a declarative programming–based strategic deconfliction approach, introducing Answer Set Programming (ASP) for the first time to optimize UAM flight planning. By integrating time synchronization with path planning, the method achieves conflict-free scheduling. Experimental results demonstrate that, in small- to medium-scale scenarios, ASP offers faster solving times and superior scalability compared to Constraint Programming (CP). Although CP exhibits stable memory consumption, its performance degrades significantly as problem complexity increases. This work thus establishes a novel, efficient, and scalable solving paradigm for UAM airspace management.

Abstract

The growing demand for Urban Air Mobility (UAM) introduces significant challenges in airspace management, particularly within densely populated metropolitan regions. As the number of aerial vehicles-such as drones, air taxis, and helicopters-continues to rise, so does the risk of mid-air collisions and conflicts with existing air traffic and obstacles. Ensuring safe and efficient UAM operations requires robust strategic deconfliction mechanisms. We propose an Answer Set Programming (ASP) based approach for strategic deconfliction, focusing on time synchronization and route optimization for conflict-free flight plans. The solution is benchmarked against Constraint Programming (CP), emphasizing scalability and resource use. Results show that ASP offers faster execution and better scalability for small to medium cases, while CP maintains stable memory but degrades with complexity.

Problem

• Urban Air Mobility
• strategic deconfliction
• airspace management
• mid-air collisions
• flight planning

Innovation

• Answer Set Programming
• Urban Air Mobility
• Strategic Deconfliction
• Route Optimization
• Time Synchronization