Functional Safety Certification for Inspection Drones: SORA Explained

Date
2027-04-21
Location
Online
Host
Zach L

About this event

A Tabletop Exercise for Automation Engineers pursuing functional safety certification. A live 30-minute tabletop exercise on SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment for Drones) for inspection drones, built for automation engineers pursuing functional safety certification. What We'll Cover: What SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment for Drones) requires and how its scope applies to inspection drones Mapping SORA clauses to the certification evidence assessors expect System-specific hazards and safety functions typical of inspection drones Common findings that delay certification, and how to avoid them A practical readiness roadmap for automation engineers preparing for assessment Related topics: SORA · Inspection Drones · functional safety certification · functional safety assessment

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About SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment for Drones)

This event covers the compliance, engineering, and verification requirements defined by SORA.

SORA is JARUS's risk assessment methodology for UAS specific-category operations, adopted by EASA: it derives ground and air risk classes for a concept of operations, applies mitigations, and yields a SAIL level dictating operational safety objectives (OSOs).

What it regulates

The ten-step process: ConOps definition, intrinsic ground/air risk (GRC/ARC), strategic and tactical mitigations, SAIL determination, OSO robustness levels, containment requirements, and adjacent-area considerations.

Who must comply

Drone operators seeking specific-category authorizations (BVLOS delivery, inspection) and NAAs assessing them.

Key requirements of SORA

  • GRC from operation footprint over people; ARC from airspace encounter risk
  • Mitigations: sheltering, parachutes, DAA, airspace measures with robustness evidence
  • SAIL I-VI mapping to OSO requirement sets
  • Containment (flight geography, contingency, buffer) design

Key concepts: SORA

OSO
Operational Safety Objectives — the requirement checklist whose required robustness scales with SAIL.
Containment
Assurance the aircraft stays within approved volumes even under failure.
SAIL
Specific Assurance and Integrity Level — the operation's overall demand level on people, procedures and tech.
Tactical vs strategic mitigation
Real-time (detect and avoid) versus pre-planned (airspace, timing) risk reductions.

Frequently asked questions: SORA

How does SORA connect to design standards?

Higher SAIL pushes OSOs toward certified-grade evidence for the aircraft and its functions (e.g., containment integrity), pulling in design assurance practices (DO-178C-style software rigor) proportionate to operational risk.

Standard information based on the published text of SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment for Drones). Event content is provided by the host. For authoritative guidance, consult the official standard body.