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Pipistrel has selected Honeywell’s Compact Fly-By-Wire system for its Nuuva V300 cargo unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Fly-By-Wire (FBW) avionics will provide the flight control “brains” to the eVTOL prototype and will offer the capability for safe and efficient autonomous operation.

Pipistrel has selected Honeywell to supply a FBW flight control solution for its Nuuva V300 VTOL prototype.

“After years of excellent cooperation in the UAM sector, we chose to work with Honeywell in the development of the Nuuva V300 as well,” said Ivo Boscarol, founder and CEO of Pipistrel Group. “We see this cargo aircraft paving the way for the passenger-carrying Pipistrel 801, our proposed air taxi for Uber Elevate, as both aircraft share similar architectures. Honeywell’s expertise and the proven capabilities of its Compact Fly-By-Wire system will provide airliner levels of safety for our novel air vehicles.”

Honeywell’s compact FBW product offering draws on its decades of experience developing similar flight controls suites for major aerospace OEM’s, but in the form factor of a paperback book. The product is intended for small autonomous cargo and aerial mobility platforms. FBW controls a vehicle’s control surfaces via flight control electronics in lieu of heavy hydraulics, control cables, or push rods. This solution greatly reduces maintenance costs for operators and provides the weight savings needed to make aerial mobility commercially viable.

The Pipistrel Nuuva V300 can carry up to a 660 pound (300 kilograms) payload.

“One of the toughest challenges logistics companies face today is meeting the demand for same-day delivery. Vehicles like Pipistrel’s Nuuva V300 are going to be a real breakthrough in the race to solve this problem,” said Stéphane Fymat, vice president and general manager, unmanned aerial systems (UAS)/UAM, Honeywell Aerospace. “We listened to our customers and built a product that meets the unique needs of this segment, and we’re extremely proud that our Compact Fly-By-Wire system will be guiding these vehicles as they take to the skies.”

Pipstrel’s Nuuva V300 is a long-range, large-capacity, autonomous UAV. It can carry payloads up to 660 pounds and has a range of 186 miles making it an ideal candidate for remote cargo delivery and areas once only reached by helicopters.

Other UAM companies using the Compact Fly-By-Wire system include Vertical Aerospace and Volocopter. Honeywell is also developing systems for autonomous landing, cooling, visual flight control, and even electric engines.

Why it matters: Pipstrel draws on Honeywell’s resume to deliver its flight controls package. Honeywell is well known and well regarded throughout the aerospace industry for its long history in avionics and system components found in traditional commercial and business aviation, and with this announcement further extends itself into the aerial mobility business. For Pipistrel, outsourcing flight control electronics will greatly reduce developmental costs of building its aircraft. Earlier this year, the company began accepting orders for the Nuuva 300 prototype.

Falck, one of the world’s most impressive emergency response providers, is turning to manned drones to get paramedics to the scene of an emergency faster than ever.

Operating in over 30 countries with over 25,000 emergency-trained employees, Falck plans to make manned drones an integral part of its fire and emergency medical services starting even before 2025. According to Falck, it the organization will use eVTOL transport to respond with a single paramedic, who can assess whether an ambulance is needed.

A rendering of a future Fack eVTOL emergency response vehicle in aciton

Falck is initiating its VTOL emergency response efforts with an unmanned drone program. Since 2018, Falck has been working with the innovation project “HealthDrones” – a three-year innovation project funded by Innovation Fund Denmark. The project was designed to explore how effective UAVs can be in transporting items like blood samples or medical equipment. The project was found so successful that Falck is now transitioning into operating its own drone fleet, with near-future addition of manned drones. A statement by Falck mentions that the company will work with a yet unnamed ‘tech partner’ which will provide the manned drones themselves and assist in carrying out manned operations.

A photo from Falck’s current work with “HealthDrones” to discover where new flight technologies will be most effective.

According to Falck, the key benefits of eVTOL response are multitude, but it’s yet to be seen which of these benefits will be the most valuable. Falck’s hypothesis is that the highest value will likely be found in improving response times, better accessing remote areas, treating patients at their homes, or reducing the number of necessary ambulance trips. Part of Falck’s goal for now is to experiment with these situations to discover in where the new flight technology can be most effective.

Falck expects to carry out the manned drone flights in cooperation with customers in either Denmark or abroad, and claims that several customers have already expressed interest. Falck expects to cooperate with one or more customers where the existing emergency medical services are at a high level, which encourages customer readiness for development.

Why it’s important: Emergency response represents one of the most near-term business use cases for eVTOL technology. While the expected benefits for emergency response itself are numerous and key to saving lives, putting new flight technologies to use in these situations will also provide an excellent way for eVTOLs to enter the market and the public sphere. In addition to Falck, new technologies from Volocopter, Urban Aeronautics, and even Gravity Industries are also entering partnerships for emergency response.

Embraer announced the formation of Eve Urban Air Mobility Solutions, Inc. (Eve) on October 15th. Eve is an independent company dedicated to accelerating the Urban Air Mobility (UAM) ecosystem, according to Embraer’s press release.

The announcement characterizes Eve as more than just a eVTOL manufacturer – the company is developing a full portfolio of solutions to enable the UAM market. One component of that development is the progression and certification of the company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL), in addition to the associated services/support network, and the creation of urban air traffic management solutions.

André Stein, former head of strategy for EmbraerX, has been appointed CEO of Eve. The company was incubated for four years within EmbraerX. “We value the vast potential of the UAM market, as it represents a new business segment in which we foresee significant opportunities for Embraer. Innovation and diversification are key pillars of Embraer’s new strategic plan, which will increase revenue and improve profitability over the next few years,” said Francisco Gomes Neto, President and CEO of Embraer. “That is why I am eager to announce Eve, the first company to graduate from EmbraerX.

EmbraerX has been part of the Uber Elevate Network since its inception in 2017, as part of the company’s initiative to accelerate the UAM revolution, “Eve’s launch is an important next step in commercializing Embraer’s eVTOL designs while building on Embraer’s ability to design, certify, and deliver safe, globally-accepted aircraft. We look forward to our continued partnership to make aerial ridesharing a reality,” said Eric Allison, Head of Uber Elevate.

Eve’s eVTOL design is “human-centered” and represents an actual, certifiable product development – the first flight of the engineering simulator occurred in June of 2020. and the company is harnessing the expertise of both Embraer and Atech, a subsidiary of the Embraer Group, in providing globally-recognized air traffic management software to create the solutions that will help safely scale the UAM industry going forward.

More information on the company may be found at www.eveairmobility.com.

Why it’s important: Embraer’s formal spinoff of Eve creates a deliberate segmentation of the larger commercial aircraft manufacturer from the aerial mobility offerings of the future. The full stack approach to mobility infrastructure development is a unique approach toward bringing an eVTOL to market, one that requires a greater resource pool and technical, business, and infrastructure know-how. Fortunately, Embraer’s vast experience will aid in deploying this longer term goal of an aerial mobility ecosystem, but partnerships between Eve and companies such as Atech and the Uber Elevate Network will further aid the progression toward initial certification and on-demand commercial deployment of aerial mobility services.

Read the full press release here.

Volocopter has released the first worldwide study in partnership with ADAC Luftrettung on the role of eVTOL platforms in air rescue operations. The study was has spanned nearly two years of research and technology demonstrations across Bavaria and the Rhineland and has tried to determine if an aerial mobility focused rescue service system can expedite the transport of doctors and other medical professionals. The two companies previously launched simulated rescue operations a year ago in Germany.

The goal of the study is to determine the feasibility in transporting emergency doctors, rather than direct patient transport. Volocopter envisions working to complement rapid air assistance rather than replace it in early implementations.

^The Volocopter VoloCity, Volocopter’s second eVTOL iteration.

Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter, commented, “The VoloCity is the first multicopter worldwide that is already in the process of commercial certification, and together with ADAC Luftrettung, it could already save lives today.

According to the study, significant improvements in emergency care for an operating radius of 25 to 30 kilometers has been shown. Cruise speed of the multicopter should be between 100 and 150 km/h with a minimum range of approx. 150 kilometers. These ideal conditions would be technically possible in about four years.

With such multicopters, emergency physicians could often be at the scene of an emergency twice as fast in rural areas compared to a conventional emergency medical service vehicle and reach around two to three times as many patients in a larger health service area. According to the study, multicopters were demonstrated as an adequate means in combatting the shortage of emergency doctors in many places and enabling current emergency doctors to work more efficiently. This was one of the most important findings of the study in light of the national average emergency physician arrival time worsening in the last 20 years by almost 40 percent.

“The work of the project participants is very impressive. Today we are convinced that multicopters can help shape and improve future rescue services. The results are so promising that we will pursue operational testing of the project,” announced Frédéric Bruder, Managing Director of the non-profit ADAC Luftrettung.

The study not only reviewed the technical elements of the mission profile but also legal, economic, and societal implications. They found that cost-efficiency is possible to achieve when compared relative to other investment requirements in the healthcare industry. Furthermore, the study found this implementation of eVTOL platforms could help solidify their position as a global leader in innovation and even become an incubator for them in the future.

Why it matters: This study between Volocopter and ADAC Luftrettung not only demonstrates Germany’s commitment to applying aerial mobility platforms on a large scale in the near term, but also dives deeper into the secondary and tertiary effects of its ambitions. On the surface, enhancing air response for emergency medical professionals will improve network efficiency and ultimately save lives. These advancements, however, underly Germany’s overall investment in aerial mobility and its desire to be a global leader in ushering in the next era of aviation.

Uber Technologies and South Korean telecommunications company SK Telecom have agreed to form a joint venture for a specialized mobility business that will be spun off from SK Telecom. The new business will both support current on-demand ground transportation operations in tandem with planning future aerial mobility services. SK Telecom stated that its board had approved the creation of this new business, tentatively named “T Map Mobility”, and Uber has agreed to invest over $100 million into the joint venture. 

SK Telecom CEO Park Jung-ho stated that his company’s goal with T Map Mobility is to “usher in a new era of future mobility technologies, including flying vehicles.” T Map is South Korea’s largest mobility platform with around 13 million monthly active users, and the company plans to use data from these operations to help design aerial mobility infrastructure. 

Rendering of the EmbraerX eVTOL, a partner to the Uber Elevate project

SK Telecom stated that T Map Mobility would leverage 5G, artificial intelligence and T Map capabilities to offer optimal route planning, 3-D high definition mapping for high-altitude geographic features, and intelligent air traffic control systems for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. SK Telecom is a member of Urban Air Mobility (UAM) Team Korea, a public-private consultative body launched in June to commercialize drone taxis by 2025.

Why it’s important: Leveraging South Korea’s most popular mobility platform, this joint venture between SK Telecom and Uber will accelerate the development of ride share services in South Korea on the ground to eventually transition to the air. By combining these businesses, the venture will provide an “all-in-one” mobility service that will utilizing existing ground transportation networks to grow into eventual aerial mobility services. By establishing this partnership, SK Telecom, Uber, and South Korea are laying down groundwork for air mobility in a major and systemic way. 

Source // Aju Business Daily

Kilowatt is currently selling its “EcoMax” helicopters with a traditional power plant and a guarantee to retrofit the rotorcraft with an Electric Power Unit (EPU) at no charge once it has been awarded its Supplemental Type Certificate (“STC”).

Eco Helicopters is working with Kilowatt Aviation to bring what it calls the “EcoMax”, an electrified version of the ubiquitous Robinson R44 light helicopter, to the market. Kilowatt’s goal with the EcoMax is to merge operational aspects of traditional helicopter air taxi services with the on-demand surface transport model pioneered by Uber and others. The company has also managed to match the performance of the conventional R44, while decreasing its noise-inducing vibrations and potentially extending its airframe/drivetrain fatigue-life.

The timeline for Kilowatt to obtain a type certification for the electrified R44 could be as short as 18 months given the relatively simple procedure of swapping the powerplant. In the meantime, and potentially starting in 2021, Eco Helicopters would operate the conventional R44 on routes around the LA area, to and from heliports and airports, as current charter helicopter services do. the operator is already a Part-135 FAA-approved passenger service provider (since 2007) and would work inside the current regulatory and commercial landscape. In doing so, it could be the first eVTOL provider to market with a largely familiar and proven business model.

Kilowatt originally began the electrification of the R44 to quickly transport organs for transplant that are being developed by United Therapeutics subsidiary Lung Biotechnology. However, United Therapeutics CEO Martine Rothblatt has seemingly redirected her focus and has made substantial investments in startup Beta Technologies, the Vermont-based developer of the Alia-250 eVTOL air taxi.

Richard Webb, Eco Helicopters owner and test pilot for the Tier 1 Engineering-developed electric R44, receives a Guinness World Record plaque for an eVTOL R44 flight.

Why it’s important: The approach by Eco Helicopters represents the most direct-to-market strategy for on demand eVTOL flight. Although more complicated aircraft designs will have their advantages, they may takes decades to fully develop and certify. In the meantime, by simply swapping out the power plant on an existing aircraft, Eco Helicopters and Kilowatt Aviation may make themselves one of the first eVTOL service providers in the world. Other companies including BLADE Urban Air Mobility and Skyryse have had recent success with similar strategies, by applying proven and certified helicopters to the new aerial mobility business model of short point-to-point urban flights.

Related:

• BLADE Announces Charters at Operating Cost for those affected by COVID-19
• BLADE and NYU Langone Partner for Emergency Organ Transfers via Helicopter
• BLADE Announces new Miami Beach Service

ZEVA Aero, a Tacoma Washington-based aircraft developer, has officially merged its assets with those of FabLab LLC, its former incubator.

According to a recent press release, the merger gives ZEVA ownership and control of important assets such as 3D printers capable of printing carbon fiber composites, CNC machines, electronics lab equipment, machine tools, computing and network resources and much more. Additionally, ZEVA Aero will gain revenue from existing contract manufacturing jobs at FabLab, and will take over the leasehold of the facility.

Rendering of the ZEVA Zero at full scale

ZEVA Aero is developer of the ZEVA Zero, a disc-shaped ‘blended body’ eVTOL that uses the body of the aircraft itself as a lift surface. ZEVA’s goal with the Zero is to make point-to-point personal air transportation accessible for people throughout the U.S. According to ZEVA Founder Steve Tibbitts, the company hopes to ‘have a ZEVA Zero in every garage by 2040’. The Zero prototype recently held a place at Boeing’s GoFly competition, where Tibbitts discussed the aircraft’s near-future potential for medical response and military applications.

In another article highlighting the recent wildfires in California, ZEVA’s team mentioned the potential benefits of using the Zero in emergency situations, particularly where firefighting ground vehicles might get trapped by flames or be unable to access key areas of the emergency situation. According to ZEVA, the Zero could get responders onto the scene faster than any other form of transportation with a 160mph cruise speed, and could even be remotely piloted in order to rescue people in danger. Other uses mentioned by ZEVA include resupply and location tracking.

Why it’s important: Although ZEVA Aero is a small company as compared to the aviation giants currently entering aerial mobility (Airbus, Boeing, Bell, etc), it has an incredibly unique concept with some clear design advantages over more traditional aircraft. While ZEVA may not be able to compete with these large companies for the shared air taxi business, the Zero could have great success in private ownership or specialized applications such as emergency rescue, surveillance, and more.

Israel eVTOL development company Gadfin is pursuing future developments of its aircraft through a partnership with an Italian Electric Infrastructure firm Enel. Gadfin was founded just two years ago, in 2018, by Eyal Regev, Ran Kleiner and Ilan Yuval.

The Gadfin “Spirit One”. The Spirt One’s wings fold in for vertical take off, and fold back out for forward flight.

The announcement for this partnership focused on the collaboration between the two companies via an innovation lab, slated INFRALAB, that was established through the Israeli Shikun & Binui construction group in Haifa. Of main focus is aerial survey of over 800,000km of power lines, per Gadfin information. These surveys are critical to assessing the health of national and international infrastructure at costs cheaper than ever before.

Gadfin’s aircraft, named the Spirit One, won a competition that included over 30 aircraft vying for the opportunity to be selected be Enel to receive up to $12 Million per year for development purposes. Spirit One was ultimately selected due to its capabilities of range, autonomous operation, and efficiency and safety of operation. Gadfin has been making news in 2020, as early this year it was the first company to receive a permit from Israel’s Civil Aviation Authority for urban airspace deliveries. This permit approval opens a wide range of opportunities to the company and affords them the opportunity of being first to market amongst Israeli aerial logistics companies.

The Spirit One has a range of over 250 km, while remaining lighter than 25kg. The aircraft is operated autonomously, with no human control, and is reported to be resistance to the challenges of operation in difficult weather situations. While the vehicle is not yet sized for passenger carrying operations, the infrastructure for autonomous on-demand inspections of power line infrastructure is being laid, just as approvals for commercial aerial mobility operations are also being issued from the Israeli Civil Aviation Authority. Both activities are key enablers to paving the road for future, larger scale eVTOL operations in Israel and Italy.

Why it’s important: The Enel and Gadfin partnership represents a common scenario for key enabling aerial mobility technology pathways for the future – partnership between two dissimilar businesses that define the operational infrastructure for aerial mobility through business to business transactions, mostly focused on logistical applications. As certification efforts for electric VTOL aircraft continue, one only needs to replace the vehicle, and not the operational framework, to create a large scale on-demand aerial transportation network.

View video of the Gadfin Spirit One in operation here.

uAvionix, a growing avionics leader in aerial mobility, has patented its Direct-Broadcast Remote Identification (RID) technology for unmanned aircraft systems under U.S. Patent 10,733,894. The firm has been working to build a comprehensive suite of communications, navigation, and surveillance avionics for a variety of industry applications for drones all the way through fully-manned general aviation vehicles.

“This patent is a reflection of uAvionix’s early thought leadership in the area of UAS surveillance and tracking,” said Christian Ramsey, President of uAvionix. “The rules proposed under the FAA’s remote identification NPRM validate that leadership. We’re proud to be a part of building the foundational elements for the aviation networks of the future.”

uAvinoix envisions this technology will be used along with its developing Command and Control (C2) and Detect & Avoid (DAA) technologies. Combined, the technology promises to enable safe and secure unmanned aerial system operation over people and beyond direct line of sight.

Remote Identification (RID) provides direct air-to-air transmission of UAS identification without the need for other infrastructure such as cellular towers, satellites, or internet connectivity. It is commonly referred to as a “digital license plate” which will protect operator’s anonymity while providing accountability to regulatory agencies across the globe.

Patent filings for uAvionix’s Remote ID technology show its potential implementation in service.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expected to publish final regulations pertaining to RID standards by the end of the year. In its draft Notice of Public Rulemaking (NPRM), the FAA will require RID capability for any UAS operating beyond 400 feet from a given control station.

Why it matters: New regulations will generate a large market for uAvionix’s RID solutions for UAS operators. In combination with C2 and DAA technologies, uAvionix is quickly laying the building blocks in the creation of a comprehensive aerial mobility avionics ecosystem. While early applications will be for smaller UAS devices, these technologies can will eventually provide for the safe and reliable operation of passenger-carrying eVTOL platforms.

Hyundai is partnering with Incheon International Airport Corp., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and KT Corp. to accelerate the development of Urban Air Mobility and conduct test flights.

“The breadth and depth of this partnership shows what it will take to build a comprehensive UAM ecosystem to serve megacities like Seoul. Building a robust infrastructure and business model is just as important as developing innovative UAM vehicles. This partnership demonstrates Hyundai’s commitment to facilitating progress for humanity by ushering in a new era of urban air mobility that will revolutionize transportation.” – Jaiwon Shin, Executive Vice President and Head of Urban Air Mobility Division at Hyundai Motor

In June 2020, the Korean government announced the Korean UAM Roadmap, outlining steps needed to commercialize UAM. Hyundai Motor and its partners will align with the roadmap that includes the Korean UAM Grand Challenge, the public-private joint demonstration project that provides the basis for jointly studying the construction and operation of vertiports, airports for UAMs. Hyundai’s vision for the commercialization of UAM is ultimately based on three interconnected mobility solutions:

With this smart mobility vision built around the UAM-PBV-Hub network, Hyundai has outlined its commitment to provide customers seamless mobility and a differentiated mobility experience. The vision is also in line with the company’s mid-term innovation plan ‘Strategy 2025’ to shift to its business structures based on two pillars – ‘Smart Mobility Device’ and ‘Smart Mobility Service’. “UAM, PBV, and Hub will revitalize cities by removing urban boundaries, giving people time to pursue their goals, and creating a diverse community,” according to Euisun Chung, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group.

Hyundai’s SA-1 concept personal air vehicle (PAV) has been developed in collaboration with Uber Elevate and is designed with cost and noise reduction in mind in order to attract early customers, while also keeping safety as a key focus. The company plans to strengthen its partnerships with global companies like Uber and accelerate its UAM business, including developing world-class PAVs, offering fleet service and maintenance, and developing skyports.

The concept PAV is equipped with eVTOL and designed to seat five people, including a pilot. The PAV will be operated initially by a pilot during the early stages of commercialization and enable autonomous operation once the relevant technologies are developed. Hyundai plans to continue the development of the SA-1 in addition to supplementary models capable of both intercity and intracity transit, which Shin expects to be ready for commercial applications by 2028. The video below captures Hyundai’s plan for integrating its eVTOL in to the UAM-PBV-Hub network with the goal of providing a “Smart Mobility Solution” for Human-Centered Cities:

Meanwhile, the newly established partnership with Incheon International Airport Corp., Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. and KT Corp. will focus on establishing the infrastructure and studying feasibility of utilizing UAM as airport shuttles. Hyundai Construction will utilize its expertise to build vertiports as well as the transit hub that will connect UAM to other public transportations. KT will set up the communications infrastructure and make business cases for UAM as a mobility service. All four parties will be sharing necessary information during the development as well as jointly working on test flights.

Related: Hyundai Further Invests in Aerial Mobility Infrastructure, Partners with Urban-Air Port Ltd

Why it’s important: Hyundai benefits from having a global sales network and units that can provide services and assist in the early stages of infrastructure development for an aerial-vehicle ecosystem. Additionally, as an automaker accustomed to manufacturing millions of units per year, Hyundai has a competitive edge over new startups and established aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing and Airbus.

Image/Content Credit // Hyundai press release

CycloTech’s air taxi is the only eVTOL in development that may use a marine-inspired propulsion system. This propulsion system is key to the company’s claimed competitive advantage, as it could make flight both smoother for passengers and more efficient.

The CyloTech Demonstrator (left), featured next to the eventual air taxi design (right)

Most recently, the Austrian-based company announced that it has begun assembly of its physical flight demonstration prototype. According to CycloTech, testing of all components, including the flight control system, should be complete by the end of October. In November and December, CycloTech will perform full system tests on the static test bench and then take-offs and hover flights on a dynamic test bench (demonstrator on a pole). A statement by CycloTech said, “By the end of the year, the demonstrator should be capable of slow movements through our test hall”. In the first half of next year, CycloTech will increase flight test speeds and transition to outdoor flight.

According to CycloTech, its unique value proposition is the marine-inspired Cyclogyro rotor. This unique rotor consists of multiple blades set around centrally-mounted hub, which can rotate to any 360-degree direction. Changing the position of this hub controls the direction of thrust, which can then be set in any 360-degree direction. This makes all kinds of flight directions possible without a traditional fixed-rotor setup, as seen in other kinds of aerial mobility aircraft. Changes in thrust positioning can be made instantly, and each rotor set can be individually controlled. CycloTech hopes to also sell this technology to other aircraft manufacturers in urban air mobility as part of auxiliary systems packages.

Infographic of the ‘Cyclogryo-rotor’ in motion

Like many aerial mobility companies (such as EHang), CycloTech plans to initially enter the market with a smaller-scale ‘high maneuverability’ drone,  purposed for inspection of critical infrastructure in areas that are difficult to reach with land vehicles. According to CycloTech, “This will basically be a conventional drone with additional Cyclogyro rotors as auxiliary system to enhance agility and gust compensation in rough conditions for high precision maneuvering in wind speeds >20m/s.”

Why it’s important: CycloTech’s latest release has twofold significance. First, CycloTech is taking part in a growing market trend to develop unmanned drones for initial market entry, before passenger aircraft. In our recent podcast with Harrison Wolf, Project Lead of Drones and Aerospace at the World Economic Forum, Harrison discusses why this tactic may help new companies enter.  Also notable is CycloTech’s unique 360-degree propulsion design. While unique in its concept, this propulsion system could turn out to have an excellent market application in all aerial mobility vehicles. Stay tuned for test results from the fully assembled technology demonstrator once complete.

Earlier last week TransportUP covered the Volocopter press release outlining provisional steps for a partnership with Japan Airlines. The intent of this partnership is to supplement the current aerial mobility sphere in Japan, through the combination of aerial transport already provided by JAL and the support of shorter intra-island routes via air taxis. These routes are reportedly to cover both urban areas (intracity routes) and intercity and even more remote use cases to provide for transportation of goods and services to areas beyond those common to ultra-high population densities.

This announcement comes 6 months after JAL’s Innovation Fund invested in Volocopter GmbH earlier this year – but differs from the general slew of investment fund trends for one key reason.

According to Volocopter’s press release, “JAL will provide their in-depth knowledge accumulated via safe aircraft operation experience to a next-generation air mobility operation platform service. In addition, through air mobility services, JAL aims to deliver medical care in remote areas to achieve key sustainable development goals.”

The Volocopter VoloCity (left), Japan Airlines logo (right)

An increasing number of intercity and intracity use cases have been defined for aerial mobility aircraft, but the vast majority of rural operations focus on human aid and disaster relief, as well as logistics operations. Due to Japan’s more unique population of more elderly citizens in rural portions of the country (many of which lacking easy access to transportation) the emphasis on rural operations is a special identifier for this join venture. Generally, one of the most underestimated market segments for aerial mobility operations are transport to/from urban centers to remote locations 100-150 miles away. Given that a slightly older population living further outside of larger cities in many cases has more disposable income than those who are younger and tend to live in urban centers, early adopters of aerial mobility transport from rural areas may number larger than many projections estimate.

While Volocopter does not yet have a certified aircraft per Japanese Civil Aviation authorities, the company told Helicopter Investor in an interview that transferral of certification credit from EASA was being considered as a more efficient means to deployment.

Why it’s important: The operational experience of Japan Airlines should provide the stability and foundation for larger scale aerial mobility operations. Volocopter will be committing their significant investments toward their air taxi to the partnership, but the frequent flyer customer base from JAL should serve as a readily available trial market once a certified aerial mobility aircraft is available for transport.

Read the press release here.

Gravity Industries, a company that has been developing an ‘Iron Man’ style jet-powered flight suit since 2017, recently demonstrated its medical emergency response potential in the UK late last month.

The Gravity Industries jet suit flies up a mountain in the Lake District, UK during a simulated emergency medical response mission.

The recent collaboration of Gravity Industries and UK’s Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) simulated a hiker receiving a leg injury that would leave them unable to walk. In the simulated event, the hiker was in a remote area inaccessible by car and difficult to access by foot. Using the Gravity Industries jet suit, a responder was able to arrive on the scene from an access road in just 90 seconds, when the trip would have taken 25 minutes to walk.

With victims of incidents such as spine injuries, mere seconds can make the difference between life or death, and the Gravity Industries jet suit might be able to save paramedics entire minutes. Said GNAAS director of operations Andy Mawson: “We think this technology could enable our team to reach some patients much quicker than ever before. In many cases this would ease the patient’s suffering. In some cases, it would save their lives.”

The Gravity Industries jet suit uses six small jet engines to fly; two positioned on each of pilot’s arms, and two on their back. The micro-jets can be powered by either kerosine jet fuel or diesel, and the suit can reach speeds up to 32mph. The helmet included with the suit even features a heads-up display showing key data like thrust and fuel remaining.

Why it’s important: While the Gravity Industries’ jet suit has mostly remained a proof of concept for what might be possible in personal air transportation, this emergency rescue simulation has shown the high potential for this flight technology to save lives and more. While many aerial mobility companies envision shared electric air taxis, solutions like the Gravity Industries jet suit could be well equipped for rural transportation needs where infrastructure is limited.

EHang has unveiled the logistics version of its flagship product EHang 216 – the “EHang 216L”, for short-to-medium-haul air cargo transport logistics in both urban and rural areas. The 216L boasts a payload capacity of over 400 pounds, which is notably higher than many urban cargo drones currently on the market.

Similar to the EHang 216F passenger drone, The EHang 216L drone employs a fully redundant safety design and particularly, a distributed electric propulsion configuration consisting of 8 arms and 16 independent motors and propellers. The design delivers the key characteristics for which EHang is known: safety, autonomy, cluster management, interconnection and clean energy.

The high payload capability of the EHang 216L opens up more commercial opportunities for the EHang in various urban and rural aerial logistics use cases that require frequent and point-to-point flight tasks. For example, EHang 216 hopes to use the 216L to transport agricultural products (e.g. tea, fruit, etc.) between communities in mountainous regions with poor road conditions. The aircraft can also be deployed to deliver supplies and oil samples for offshore oil rigs autonomously, replenish supplies in busy international ports more efficiently, and respond to disaster relief and emergency supply needs more effectively than traditional solutions.

EHang’s Founder, Chairman and CEO Hu Huazhi said, “We’re thrilled to unveil another new version of AAV following the EHang 216F.  The EHang 216L will meet the demand for heavy-lift AAVs for short-to-medium-haul aerial logistics.  With increasing payloads and flight ranges, aerial logistics is expected to be one of the initial commercial applications of AAVs as it has higher efficiencies but lower emissions than the conventional ground transportation.  The launch of the EHang 216L also complements our existing aerial logistics AAV portfolio, which consists of the medium-sized Falcon B and the small-sized GD 2.0X.  It also enables us to meet customer needs in various aerial logistics use cases.”

EHang notes that According to Frost & Sullivan, the urban air mobility (“UAM”) global logistics market could reach US $46 billion by 2023, and China is projected to be the largest regional market in the world in 2023, accounting for 45% of the global logistics UAM market.

Why it matters: Building upon the success of the EHang 216 passenger aircraft, the 216L promises to deliver on the need for aerial urban vehicles with high-capacity cargo carrying capabilities. The EHang 216L’s cargo capacity of 200kg makes it likely winner as it can deliver far more than just a few packages as offered by other competitors. With the EHang 216L, EHang makes its AAV (autonomous aerial vehicle) offerings even more comprehensive, and it will be exciting to see how customers utilize the payload capabilities of the aircraft in the near future.

Souce: EHang press release