Job titles of the future: Delivery drone air traffic controller
Job titles of the future: Delivery drone air traffic controller
The moment Trevor Wischnewsky heard that drones were delivering pizza and sushi around his Texas neighborhood, his mind was made up. “It was super fascinating,” he says. “I just immediately wanted to be a part of it.”
当特雷弗·威什涅夫斯基（Trevor Wischnewsky）听说无人机正在他德克萨斯州的社区运送披萨和寿司时，他下定了决心。“这太令人着迷了，”他说，“我立刻就想参与其中。”
Wischnewsky is now an RPIC, or “remote pilot in command,” at a company called FlyTrex. An RPIC is like an air traffic controller. But instead of airplanes, this new class of aviators tend to fleets of hexacopter drones that ferry cargo to homes and businesses within a three-mile radius.
威什涅夫斯基现在是一家名为 FlyTrex 的公司的 RPIC，即“远程机长”。RPIC 就像一名空中交通管制员。但不同于飞机，这类新型飞行员负责管理六旋翼无人机机队，将货物运送到半径三英里内的家庭和企业。
Not only does he ensure the safe passage of FlyTrex’s parcels, but Wischnewsky coordinates traffic with a growing swarm of delivery drones dotting the skies over Dallas from competitors like Zipline, Amazon, and Alphabet’s Wing. Here’s what it takes to land the gig.
他不仅要确保 FlyTrex 包裹的安全运输，还要与达拉斯上空越来越多的竞争对手（如 Zipline、亚马逊和 Alphabet 旗下的 Wing）的送货无人机群协调交通。以下是获得这份工作所需的条件。
Aviation experience: When he applied to FlyTrex, Wischnewsky was in training to become a commercial pilot and flight instructor, and he was already certified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a drone pilot. The company requires this credential, along with a weeks-long FAA-approved training course, to ensure that a pilot is prepared to take over a drone if need be.
航空经验：当威什涅夫斯基申请 FlyTrex 时，他正在接受成为商业飞行员和飞行教练的培训，并且已经获得了美国联邦航空管理局（FAA）的无人机飞行员认证。该公司要求具备此资质，并需完成为期数周的 FAA 批准的培训课程，以确保飞行员在必要时能够接管无人机。
Though he doesn’t pilot the craft, Wischnewsky monitors the delivery process from FlyTrex’s operations center with the help of inputs from GPS, lasers, and a range of sensors.
虽然他不直接驾驶飞行器，但威什涅夫斯基会在 FlyTrex 的运营中心，借助 GPS、激光和各种传感器的输入信息来监控配送过程。
A collaborative mindset: At first, the biggest challenge was trusting the technology. “On the manned-aircraft side, they tell you ‘Don’t trust the automation,’” Wischnewsky says. The Dallas–Fort Worth area, though, is a testing ground for unmanned aircraft systems traffic management (UTM), a network that allows autonomous drones from FlyTrex and its competitors to share their coordinates in real time to help avoid collisions even beyond the pilot’s line of sight.
协作心态：起初，最大的挑战是信任这项技术。“在载人航空领域，他们会告诉你‘不要相信自动化’，”威什涅夫斯基说。然而，达拉斯-沃斯堡地区是无人机系统交通管理（UTM）的试验场，该网络允许来自 FlyTrex 及其竞争对手的自动驾驶无人机实时共享坐标，从而帮助它们在超出飞行员视线范围的情况下也能避免碰撞。
Once Wischnewsky makes sure a drone is flight-ready, its path is unimpeded, and the weather conditions are clear, UTM takes care of the rest.
一旦威什涅夫斯基确认无人机准备就绪、航线畅通且天气状况良好，剩下的工作就由 UTM 来处理。
Ability to stay calm under pressure: At his busiest, Wischnewsky will have up to 10 drones on his watch at the same time. “You’re there as a safety net,” he says. Even with automation, keen situational awareness is required, and the most common hazard is the weather.
在压力下保持冷静的能力：在最忙的时候，威什涅夫斯基同时要看管多达 10 架无人机。“你作为安全网存在于那里，”他说。即使有自动化系统，敏锐的情境感知能力依然必不可少，而最常见的危险是天气。
Wischnewsky recalls a particularly stressful day: A drone had been in the air for only seconds when the wind picked up so suddenly that he had to intervene. He returned it safely, preventing an errant ice cream cake from hitting the sidewalk.
威什涅夫斯基回忆起特别紧张的一天：一架无人机升空仅几秒钟，风力就突然增强，他不得不进行干预。他安全地将其召回，避免了一个冰淇淋蛋糕掉落在人行道上。